n 


HOUSE  IN 


BY 

MARY  S.HAVIL  AND 


UC-NRLI 


BIOLOGY 

U8RASY 


V 


RUTH 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL 
HOUSE  IN  THE  WORLD 

THE  MECHANICS  AND  HYGIENE 
OF  THE  BODY 

BY 

MARY  S.  HAVILAND 

RESEARCH  SECRETARY  OF  THE  « 

NATIONAL  CHILD  WELFARE  ASSOCIATION,  INC. 


ILLUSTRATED  BY 
KATHARINE  M.  D ALAND 


PHILADELPHIA,  LONDON,  CHICAGO 
J.   B.   LIPPINCOTT   COMPANY 


BIOLOGY 

LIBRARY 

G 


COPTRIGHT,    IQ2I.    BY   J.    B.    LIPPINCOTT   COMPANY 


PRINTED    BY   J.    B.    LIPPINCOTT    COMPANY 

AT  THE  WASHINGTON  SQUARE  PRESS 
PHILADELPHIA,  TJ.  S.  A. 


PREFACE 

THE  immortal  Mr.  Dooley  has  declared  that  "you  can 
lead  a  boy  to  college,  but  you  can 't  make  him  think. ' ' 

The  object  of  these  little  books  is  to  make  children 
think  about  health,  for  while  it  may  be  "  never  too 
late  to  mend"  bad  health  habits,  it  is  never  too  early  to 
form  good  ones. 

Health  cannot  be  forced  from  without ;  it  must  be  fos- 
tered from  within.  It  is  not  enough  for  us  to  provide 
our  children  with  proper  food,  clothe  them  suitably  and 
keep  them  clean.  We  must  also  give  them  an  intelligent 
understanding  of  the  hows  and  whys  underlying  the  laws 
of  hygiene,  and  must  impart  to  them  the  contagion  of  our 
own  enthusiasm  for  health. 

Therefore  I  have  sought,  in  these  informal  talks  with 
' '  Ruth  and  Paul, ' '  not  to  convey  the  maximum  number  of 
facts,  but  to  arouse  the  maximum  degree  of  interest. 
Facts  may  be  quickly  forgotten,  but  interest,  once  fully 
aroused,  never  quite  dies. 

For  this  reason  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 
IN  THE  WORLD  does  not  seek  to  cover  in  any  complete 
fashion  the  field  of  physiology.  It  gives  only  such  gen- 
eral facts  as  are  needed  to  explain  in  a  simple  way  the ' 
workings  of  the  bodily  machine  and  the  best  methods  of 
keeping  it  strong  and  healthy.  The  details  of  physiology 
may  well  be  studied  when  the  boy  or  girl  is  older,  but  for 
the  children  in  the  lower  and  intermediate  grades,  physi- 
ology must  be  taught  merely  as  the  basis  of  hygiene. 

iii 


iv  PREFACE 

To  many  friends  thanks  are  due  for  advice,  criticism 
and  proofreading.  I  also  desire  especially  to  acknowl- 
edge my  debt  to  Dr.  W.  F.  Russell,  Dean  of  the  College  of 
Education  of  the  University  of  Iowa;  Professor  Jean 
Broadhurst  and  Miss  Caroline  E.  Stackpole  of  Columbia 
University,  and  Dr.  Martin  Edwards  of  Boston,  all  of 
whom  have  given  generously  of  their  time  and  interest  in 
behalf  of  these  books.  To  Miss  Emma  Dolfinger,  Normal 
School,  Louisville,  Kentucky,  I  am  indebted  for  the  valu- 
able questions  and  suggestions  at  the  end  of  each  chapter. 

MAEY  S.  HAVILAND. 

National  Child  Welfare  Association, 
New  York  City. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGH 

I.  THE  FRAMEWORK  OF  THE  HOUSE 1 

II.  THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  WILLOW  TREE  . . 10 

III.  THE  LAND  OF  SOMNUS 20 

IV.  THE  AIR-ROAD 31 

V.  THE  WITCH,  INDIGESTION . . . .  43 

VI.  STOKING  THE  ENGINE 52 

VII.  How  WE  ARE  WRAPPED  UP. 64 

VIII.  THE  CLOTHES  WE  WEAR 75 

IX.  A  PAIR  OF  WHITE  HORSES 86 

X.  TAKING  PICTURES 95 

XL  Two  TELEPHONES 104 

XII.  TABLEWARE 115 

XIII.  CARE  OF  THE  HAIR 125 

XIV   SEEDS  OF  DISEASE 136 

XVo  SOMETHING  ABOUT^FLIES 147 

XVI.  "  LITTLE  DROPS  OF  WATER  " 157 

XVII.  CLOGGING  THE  FURNACE — ONLY  A  COLD 166 

XVIII.   FBAUDS  INSTEAD  OF  FOODS 175 

XIX.  A  MAGIC  PLANT 184 

XX.  SAFETY  FIRST.  .  193 


THE  MOST 
WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  FRAMEWORK  OF  THE  HOUSE 

"  WHEN  I  grow  up,"  said  Paul,  "I'm  going  to  be 
an  Indian." 

"I'm  not,"  said  Ruth,  "I'm  going  to  be  an  archi- 
tect, like  Uncle  George,  and  build  houses." 

"Huh!"  grunted  Paul.  "Girls  can't  build 
houses." 

"They  can,  too,  if  they  want!  Can't  they, 
Mother?"  cried  Ruth,  indignantly. 

"Yes,  indeed,"  Mother  replied.  "Very  good 
houses  have  been  built  by  women.  But  everyone, 
every  boy  and  girl,  builds  at  least  one  house,  the  house 
he  or  she  lives  in." 

"Why,  I  didn't  build  this  house,"  said  Paul. 

4 '  That  isn't  what  Mother  means, ' '  exclaimed  Ruth. 
"She  means  that  each  of  us  has  a  body  and  lives  in  it 
just  as  if  it  were  a  house.  But  I  don't  see  how  we 
build  our  bodies,"  she  added,  doubtfully. 

"Have  you  watched  the  men  building  the  big  City 
Bank,  downtown?"  asked  Mother. 

"Oh,  yes,"  said  Ruth.  "Daddy  watched  them 
with  us  for  a  long  time  yesterday.  They  had  put 


MOST:  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


up    a   lot    of    great,    tall,    steel   posts   with   cross- 
pieces  between." 

"Yes,"  broke  in  Paul,  "and  they  were  beginning 
to  lay  the  bricks." 

"Were  the  steel  posts  straight?"  asked  Mother. 
<  <  Why,  of  course, ' '  said  Ruth.    ' '  They  are  to  make 
the   Bank   strong,   Daddy   said,   and   if   they  were 
crooked,  the  whole  building  might  fall  down." 
"And  were  they  laying  the  bricks  straight?" 
"Oh,  yes,"  nodded  Paul.     "They  had  a  string- 
stretched  along  and  laid  all  the  bricks  right  against  it, 

so  as  to  make  a  perfectly 
straight  wall.  It  must  be  lots 
of  fun  to  slop  the  mortar  on 
and  smooth  it  down;  I  think 
I  '11  be  a  brick-layer. ' ' 

"Well,"  laughed  Mother, 
"you'd  better  begin  by  build- 
ing your  own  house  straight. 
Now  here  are  some  pictures 
that  I  took  yesterday  when  you 
and  Ruth  weren't  looking. 
What  do  you  think  about  your 
house,  Paul?  Is  it  very 
straight?" 

Paul  hung  his  head  in 
silence.  "You  see,"  resumed 
his  Mother,  "your  bones  are  like  the  steel  part 
of  the  building  and  your  muscles  are  a  little  like  the 
bricks — they  must  be  straight  and  firm  and  strong 
to  hold  the  body  upright.  Paul's  head  in  the  picture 


THE  FRAMEWORK  OF  THE  HOUSE 


is  hanging  forward  and  down,  his  chest  is  hollow, 
his  stomach  is  pushed  forward,  he  is  standing  on  the 
side  of  his  foot  and  his  weight  is  on  his  heels." 

"Well,  how  ought  a  fellow 
to  stand?"  growled  Paul. 

Mother  brought  from  the 
bookcase  a  volume  of  "Hia- 
watha." "I  think  you  said 
you  wanted  to  be  an  Indian, 
Paul,  but  I  am  sure  the  chief 
would  turn  you  out  of  the 
tribe.  Now  here  is  the  way  the 
Indian  boys  stand.  Compare 
him  with  your  picture  and  see 
how  much  finer  and  stronger 
he  looks.  His  head  is  up,  his 
chest  is  lifted,  his  shoulders 
are  flat  and  he  stands  not 
on  his  heels,  but  on  the  balls  of 
his  feet.  He  looks  strong  and  ready  for  anything." 

"How  can  you  tell  when  you  are  standing  right?" 
asked  Ruth. 

"The  simplest  way,"  said  Mother,  "is  to  see 
whether  your  chest  is  lifted  and  whether  you  can  rise 
on  your  toes,  just  as  you  stand,  without  swaying  for- 
ward first.  If  you  can  do  this,  you  are  standing 
pretty  well." 

"But  I  get  tired  standing  in  one  position,"  said 
Ruth. 

"Of  course,"  said  her  Mother,  "but  the  way  to 
rest  is  not  to  sag  over  sidewise,  and  make  your  hips 


TIIK  MOST  WONDKRFUL  1IOUSK 


and  shoulders  crooked,  but  to  put  one  foot  forward 
and  rest  on  the  other.  You  see,  you  children  have 
softer  bones  than  grown  people,  so  you  must  be  very 

careful  that  they  do  not 
grow  crooked,  or  they 
will  stay  that  way." 

Paul  was  anxious  that 
Ruth  should  not  be  let 
off.  "Let's  see  the  other 
photograph,  Mother,"  he 
urged. 

"Oh!"  exclaimed 
Ruth,  as  she  looked  at  her 
picture,  "was  I  really  sit- 
ting all  slumped  together 
and  on  my  foot  like 
that?" 

;You  certainly  were,"  said  Mother. 
;The  worst  of  it  is,"  put  in  Father,  who  had  come 
in  unnoticed,  "that  a  house  that  is  badly  built  is  not 
only  ugly,  but  useless.  Just  so,  a  body  whose  bones 
are  crooked  and  which  is  lopsided  and  all  '  slumped 
together/  as  l\ulh  says,  is  ugly,  weak  and  siekly. 
That  picture  of  Ruth  makes  me  think  of  the  rhyme 
about  the  *  crooked  man  who  walked  a  crooked  mile.' 
You  remember  that  he  and  his  crooked  pets  all '  lived 
together  in  a  crooked  little  house.'  Look  out,  Ruthie, 
or  that  house  of  yours  may  stay  crooked." 

It  was  Ruth's  turn  to  look  uncomfortable,  now, 
but  she  soon  forgot  herself  in  delight  at  a  picture 


44 


THE  FRAMEWORK  OP  THE  HOUSE  5 

that  her  father  produced  from  his  pocket.  '  '  Oh,  what 
a  dear  baby!"  she  exclaimed.  (See  Frontispiece.) 

"Isn't  he?"  said  Father.  "He  is  the  little  son 
of  an  old  friend  of  mine,  who  sent  me  the  picture 
yesterday."" 

"See,  Ruth, ' '  said  Mother, '  '  how  perfectly  straight 
his  little  back  is.  Mother  Nature  always  tries  to  start 
us  off  with  a  good,  straight  house.  New  babies  are 
almost  always  straight  and  healthy,  but  as  we  grow 
older,  most  of  us  get  into  bad  habits  of  sitting  and 
standing  and  so  we  grow  crooked  and  weakly." 

"He  is  a  lot  straighter  than  I  am,"  said  Ruth, 
"and  yet  he's  sitting  right  on  the  floor  with  no  back 
to  lean  against." 

"That  is  a  very  good  way  to  make  one's  back 
strong,"  said  Father,  "but  since  we  are  in  the  habit 
of  using  chairs,  remember  just  two  things,  Ruth: 
Always  sit  with  the  end  of  your  back  against  the  chair 
back,  not  sliding  forward,  and  always  have  your  feet 
resting  on  the  floor  or  on  a  foot-stool." 

"Yes,"  said  Paul,  "our  teacher  always  has  the 
chairs  and  desks  screwed  up  or  down  to  make  them 
the  right  height,  so  our  feet  are  on  the  floor. " 

"That  is  an  excellent  idea,"  said  Father.  "You 
see,  if  the  desk  is  too  high,  it  hunches  up  your  shoul- 
ders to  work  at  it,  and  if  it  is  too  low,  you  lean  over 
too  far  and  it  makes  you  round-shouldered  and 
cramps  your  lungs." 

"One  day,"  said  Ruth,  "I  talked  during  study- 
hour  and  Miss  Scott  made  me  sit  with  the  kinder- 


6 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


garten  children.    The  desk  was  so  low  that  I  had  to 
double  way  over  and  it  gave  me  a  stomach-ache. " 

"Well,"  said  Mother,  "we've  found  two  reasons 
for  sitting  and  standing  straight  and  working  in  a 
good  position.  One  is  that  it  makes  us  healthier  and 
stronger,  and  the  other  is  that  it  looks  much  better. 

But  there  is  another  reason, 
yet,  and  perhaps  it  is  the  best 
reason  of  all." 

"I  can't  think  what  it  is," 
said  Ruth  and  Paul,  both 
at  once. 

Father  smiled.  "I  think 
I  know,"  he  said.  "Paul 
when  you  fell  out  of  the  swing, 
the  other  day,  and  started  to 
cry,  how  did  you  stand?" 

"Why,"  said  Paul,  "I 
leaned  up  against  the  porch 
railing  and  put  my  head  down 
on  my  arms." 

"And  what  did  I  say 
to  you?" 

"You  said, i Brace  up,  Old 
Man !'  And  so  I  did  brace  up,  and  stood  up  straight, 
and  wiped  my  eyes,  and  it  didn't  hurt  much, 
after  all." 

"Of  course  it  didn't,"  said  Father.  "Nothing 
ever  does  hurt  so  much  if  you  stand  up  straight  and 
strong  instead  of  caving  in  and  ' slumping  together.' 
And  that  is  what  Mother  means.  If  you  get  the  habit 


THE  FRAMEWORK  OF  THE  HOUSE  7 

of  keeping  your  cliest  up  and  standing  straight  and 
looking  firm  and  strong,  it  helps  you  to  be  brave 
and  cheerful." 

"Do  you  mean/'  asked  Ruth,  earnestly,  "that  if 
I  try  to  look  the  way  I  want  to  be,  it  will  help  me  to  be 
that  way  ?" 

"That  is  just  what  I  mean,  Dear,"  said  Mother. 
"And  now,  last  of  all,  I  want  to  show  you  a  picture 
of  a  beautiful  statue.  This  is  a  figure  of  Victory. 
Do  you  see  how  she  steps  forward,  brave  and  glad  and 
joyous?  She  doesn't  slouch  along.  She  looks  and 
walks  straight  ahead,  for  she  is  Victory  and  she  knows 
that  nothing  in  the  world  can  harm  or  frighten  her. 
That  is  the  way  I  hope  my  children  will  face 
the  world." 

THINGS   TO   BEMEMBEB 

There  are  three  reasons  for  standing,  sitting,  and 
working,  in  good  positions.  We  grow  healthier  and 
stronger,  we  look  better,  and  we  feel  like  brave  soldiers. 

To  be  straight  and  strong,  we  must  have  straight, 
strong  bones  to  hold  up  the  body.  We  must  have  strong 
muscles  to  support  and  to  move  the  bones.  The  bones 
are  somewhat  soft  in  places,  while  we  are  still  growing. 
Therefore  we  must  be  very  careful  to  sit,  stand  and  walk 
in  the  best  positions.  Otherwise  we  may  force  the  body 
framework  into  bad  shapes,  which  we  cannot  change 
easily  when  we  are  grown. 

Bones  are  made  of  two  substances,  a  flexible  material 
to  keep  them  elastic,  and  a  hard  substance,  something 
like  limestone,  which  makes  them  strong  and  keeps  them 
from  bending.  Children's  bones,  like  babies'  bones,  are 
soft  because  they  have  little  of  the  lime  part.  Drinking 
milk  gives  us  lime  for  our  bones  and  thus  helps  to  make 


8  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

them  strong.  To  keep  good  posture  and  to  eat  good  food, 
are  two  of  the  best  ways  to  build  a  fine,  strong  frame- 
work for  '  '  our  house. ' ' 

THINGS    TO   DO 

1.  Find  out  if  you  stand  well.     Get  a  window-stick 
or  cane  or  umbrella.     Stand  up,  and  hold  the  window- 
stick  straight  up  against  your  side.;    Let  its  base  be  in 
front  of  your  ankle.   Your  head,  body,  and  limbs  ought 
to  be  parallel  to  the  stick.    Let  some  one  look  to  see  if 
they  are. 

2.  When  you  are  standing  well,  notice  that  your  weight 
is  on  the  balls  of  your  feet.    Now  rise  on  your  toes  two  or 
three  times.     Can  you  do  it  without  swaying  backwards 
or  forwards  ? 

3.  Eest,  by  placing  your  right  foot  forward  and  resting 
your  weight  on  the  left  foot.     Change  your  balance,  by 
putting  the  left  foot  forward  and  resting  on  right  foot. 

4.  Sit.    Push  the  end  of  your  spine  against  the  back 
of  the  chair.     Eest  both  feet  on  the  floor.     Bend  for- 
ward from  your  hips  until  you  are  sitting  free  from  the 
chair.    Lean  back,  and  rest  your  shoulders  against  the 
chair-back  comfortably. 

5.  Find  out  what  our  bones  would  be  like,  if  they  had 
no  stiffening.     Get  a  perfectly  clean  chicken  bone.    Fill 
a  tumbler  nine-tenths  full  of  water,  and  one-tenth  full  of 
hydrochloric  acid,  which  your  teacher  will  give  you.    Put 
the  chicken  bone  into  the  tumbler.    After  a  few  days,  take 
out  the  bone  and  wash  it  well.    Try  to  bend  it.    The  acid 
has  taken  away  the  lime-part  of  the  bone.    Milk  is  the  chief 
way  we  have  of  getting  lime  into  our  bones. 

THINGS  TO  THINK  ABOUT 

1.  Why  should  we  want  to  stand,  sit,  and  walk  well? 

2.  What  things  about  an  Indian  boy's  standing  posi- 
tion do  you  admire  ? 


THE  FRAMEWORK  OF  THE  HOUSE  9 

3.  How  can  you  train  yourself  to  stand  as  well  as  the 
Indian  boy  f    To  sit  well  1 

4.  When  you  are  tired  of  standing,  how  can  you  rest 
yourself,  and  still  keep  a  good  position? 

5.  What  difference  does  it  make  whether  or  not  we 
stand  well  when  we  are  children? 

6.  What  difference  does  it  make  what  kinds  of  chairs 
and  desks  we  use? 

7.  What  can  we  do  for  our  bones  to  give  them  a 
chance  to  become  hard  and   strong!     Why  would  you 
do  this? 

8.  Look  at  pictures  of  heroes — of  athletes.    Do  they 
look  brave  and  strong?    What  do  you  think  their  posture 
has  to  do  with  this  ? 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  WILLOW  TREE 

' '  I  THINK  Sam  Smith  is  awfully  mean, ' '  said  Paul, 
one  rainy  afternoon. 

"Why,  what  does  he  do?"  asked  Father. 

"He's  always  punching  the  little  fellows.  But 
Tom  Fuller  fixed  him  yesterday.  He  grabbed  Sam's 
arm  and  twisted  it.  Sam's  lots  bigger  than  Tom  is, 
but  he  had  to  go  right  down  on  his  knees  and  beg 
Tom  to  quit." 

"I  think,"  said  Father,  "that  Tom  must  have  been 
studying  jiu  jitsu." 

"What's  that?"  asked  Ruth,  looking  up  from  her 
doll.  "I  never  heard  that  word  before." 

"I  suppose  not,"  said  Father,  "and  yet  jiu  jitsu, 
which  means  Ho  conquer  by  yielding,'  is  a  game  hun- 
dreds— perhaps  thousands — of  years  old." 

"Tell  us  about  it,"  begged  Paul. 

"One  snowy  day,  about  400  years  ago,"  began 
Father,  "a  young  Japanese  doctor,  named  Akiyama, 
who  had  been  interested  in  wrestling  in  China,  went 
out  for  a  walk.  He  noticed  that  the  pine-tree 
branches,  which  had  held  themselves  stiff  and 
straight,  were  broken  with  the  force  of  the  wind  and 
weight  of  the  snow.  But  he  saw  that  the  willow 
branches,  instead  of  being  stiff,  had  bent  themselves 
down  to  the  ground  and  were  unhurt.  Then  Akiyama 
got  to  thinking  that  it  isn't  size  and  strength  that 
10 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  WILLOW  TREE 


11 


count  so  much  as  being  light  and  quick  and  able  to 
twist  and  bend.  So  he  started  a  school  where  he 
taught  people  to  become  quick  and  skilful  and  how 
to  overcome  others  who  were  much  heavier  and 
stronger  than  they.  He  made  them  eat  good  food  and 
not  be  greedy,  take  plenty  of  sleep  and  fresh  air,  keep 
very  clean  and  lead  a  wholesome  life — and  the  Japan- 
ese became  wonderful  wrestlers.  He  called  his 
school  'Yoshin  Riu,'  which  means  '  Spirit  of  the 
Willow  Tree.'  " 

' '  Do  people  in  Japan  learn  that  kind  of  wrestling, 
now?"  asked  Ruth. 

"Yes,  it  is  taught  in  the  schools  and  the  Japanese 
soldiers,  sailors  and 
police  are  trained  in 
it.  Of  late  years,  it 
has  been  taught  here 
in  America. " 

"I'd  like  to  learn 
it  and  throw  Sam 
Smith,  "said  Paul. 

"I'm  sorry  I  can't 
teach  you,"  said 
Father,  "but  there  is 
a  sort  of  wrestling 
which  is  good  fun 
that  I  can  show  you.  Come  out  on  the  porch  in  the 
fresh  air." 

Father  made  Ruth  and  Paul  face  each  other  with 
their  right  feet  together,  right  hands  clasped  and  left 
feet  drawn  back,  like  this.  "Now,"  said  he,  "you 


12  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

must  not  use  your  left  hands  and  you  are  not  to  move 
either  foot  off  the  floor.  Let's  see  which  one  can  push 
or  pull  the  other  so  as  to  make  him  lose  his  balance 
or  move  his  foot." 

For  the  next  ten  minutes,  Ruth  and  Paul  had  a 
lively  time,  and  they  soon  saw  that  to  "  conquer  by 
yielding,"  to  be  quick  and  able  to  twist  and  turn  is 
better  even  than  to  be  very  heavy  and  strong.  At 
last,  when  Paul  lost  his  balance,  he  pulled  Ruth  down 
with  him  and  both  children  fell  in  a  laughing  heap. 

"My!"  gasped  Ruth,  "it's  lots  of  fun,  but  I  can 
hardly  breathe." 

"Whew!  "said  Paul.   "I'm  hot  as  can  be!" 

"So  you  like  my  game  of  the  willow-tree  wrestling 
with  the  snowstorm'?"  laughed  Father.  "It's  a  fine 
game  to  play  on  the  porch  on  a  rainy  day  like  this, 
when  it's  too  wet  and  muddy  for  hide-and-seek  and 
base-ball  and  such  games." 

6 '  We  could  play  it  just  as  well  indoors, ' '  said  Paul. 

"No,  indeed,"  Father  replied,  "when  you  are  ex- 
ercising, you  need  a  great  deal  of  air.  Ruth  is  breath- 
ing hard  still.  That  shows  how  much  good  our  game 
did  to  her  lungs." 

"It  did  something  to  Paul,  too.  He's  as  red  as  a 
beet, ' '  said  Ruth. 

"Yes,  it  made  the  blood  run  faster  all  through  his 
body  and  up  into  his  cheeks.  You  children  really 
ought  to  take  a  bath,  to  wash  off  the  perspiration,  but 
it's  too  near  supper-time,  so  you  had  better  put  on 
your  sweaters.  You  know  athletes  always  cover  up 
when  they  stop  playing. ' ? 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  WILLOW  TREE 


13 


As  Paul  brought  out  the  sweaters,  he  said, 
4 '  Daddy,  you  talked  about  our  muscles.  What  are 
muscles,  anyhow?" 

"You've  seen  raw  meat,  haven't  you,  Paul?" 

1 ;  Oh,  yes,  lots  of  times. ' ' 

"Well,  meat  is  muscle,  only  that  when  it  is  alive, 
it  can  pull  together  and 
shorten  up  and  then 
stretch  out  long  again, 
just  like  a  big  rubber  band. 
If  my  skin  were  peeled  off, 
I'd  look  something  like 
this.  All  over  the  body, 
you  see,  there  are  great 
numbers  of  these  elastic 
bands,  fastened  to  the 
bones.  If  you  move  your 
hand  or  foot,  you  can  see 
the  muscles  moving  in 
your  arm  or  leg. ' ' 

"Oh,  yes,  "cried  Paul; 
"yesterday  Sam  was 
showing  the  fellows  how  big  his  arm  was  when  he 
doubled  up  his  fist." 

"Yes,"  said  Father,  "if  we  use  our  muscles,  they 
grow  and  become  strong.  Exercise  is  good  for  the 
heart  and  lungs,  too,  and  it  helps  the  stomach  to  digest 
our  food.  If  we  lie  abed  or  loll  around  the  house 
constantly,  we  soon  fall  ill." 

"I  suppose  that  is  why  Sadie  Smith's  squirrel  got 
sick,"  remarked  Ruth.  "She  let  him  out  of  his  cage 


14  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

and  she  saw  him  in  a  few  days  up  in  a  tree,  and  he 
was  as  well  as  ever. ' ' 

"Children  usually  get  plenty  of  exercise,"  said 
Father,  "for  it's  as  natural  for  them  to  frisk  around 
as  for  squirrels.  But  they  should  take  different  sorts 
of  exercise,  not  just  running,  but  wrestling,  swim- 
ming, skating,  rowing — all  kinds  of  ways  to  use  all 
parts  of  the  body.  It's  well  to  remember,  too,  not  to 
exercise  too  hard  just  after  eating,  or  the  old  witch, 
Indigestion,  may  get  you!" 

"I  think  one  thing  that  made  me  get  so  out  of 
breath  playing  ' willow  tree'  was  that  my  belt  was  too 
tight,  "said  Ruth. 

"Dear  me!"  exclaimed  Father.  "Don't  ever  ex- 
ercise in  clothing  that  is  the  least  bit  snug.  It  pre- 
vents your  heart  and  lungs  from  giving  your  muscles 
the  blood  and  air  they  need.  I  wonder,"  he  added, 
"whether  you  children  would  like  to  go  to-morrow  to 
the  athletic  meeting  at  the  School  for  the  Blind." 

'  <  Athletic  meeting ! ' '  cried  Ruth.  ' '  Why,  Daddy, 
how  can  those  blind  children  run  or  jump  or 
anything?" 

For  answer,  her  father  pulled  something  from  his 
pocket.  "Here  is  their  program,"  he  said.  "You  can 
see  in  this  picture  how  they  arrange  the  races.  The 
children  take  hold  of  these  handles  that  slide  along 
these  stretched  wires.  It's  just  as  if  they  had  hold 
of  someone's  hand.  Then,  so  that  they  may  know 
when  to  stop,  here,  in  front  of  the  goal-post,  is  a  fringe 
of  ropes.  When  he  feels  the  ropes  touch  his  fore- 
head, the  runner  knows  that  he  has  reached  the  goal." 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  WILLOW  TREE 


15 


"Oh,  how  nice  that  they  can  run  and  have  good 
times,  like  the  rest  of  us!"  cried  Ruth.  "Do  let's 
go,  Baddy." 

"We  will,"  said  Father.  "I  shall  be  interested 
to  see  how  much  stronger  and  healthier  and  happier 
the  children  are  than  they  were  before  the  superin- 
tendent started  teaching  them  how  to  run  and  play. 


Another  set  of  children  that  I  am  sorry  for  are  those 
in  the  poor  parts  of  big  cities.  Some  years  ago,  in 
a  certain  part  of  New  York  City,  there  were  said  to 
be  only  two  square  feet  of  sidewalk  for  each  child. 
Just  think  of  it !  But  most  cities  have  begun  to  see 
that  to  have  playgrounds  and  parks  to  keep  people 
well,  is  wiser  than  to  build  hospitals  to  cure  them 
after  they  are  sick.  See,  here  is  a  picture  of  a  swim- 
ming-pool in  one  of  the  big  cities." 

' '  Swimming  is  good  for  you,  isn  't  it,  Daddy  ? ' ' 
"It's  one  of  the  very  best  kinds  of  exercise.  A 
certain  lady  who  is  famous  for  her  perfect  figure,  good 
health  and  skill  as  a  swimmer,  says  she  was  a  very 
sickly  little  girl — almost  crippled — and  that  swim- 
ming cured  her." 


16 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


THE  SPIRIT  OP  THE  WILLOW  TREE  17 

Mother  had  been  listening  at  the  window.  "It's 
time  for  Paul  to  set  the  table  and  for  Ruth  to  cut 
the  bread/'  she  said,  "but  first  I  have  another  picture 
that  I  want  the  children  to  see.'7  She  led  them  into 
the  dining-room  and  pointed  to  a  picture  over  the 
mantel-piece.  "Do  you  see  how  strong  and  brave  and 
happy  this  sturdy  French  girl  looks  ? ' 7  she  said.  ' '  She 
is  taking  her  sickle  to  the  fields  to  mow.  The  sun  is 
only  just  up.  It  must  be  very,  very  early.  But  she  is 
so  healthy  and  happy  that  she  sings  as  she  goes  to  her 
hard  work.  Remember,  children,  that  not  only  play, 
but  work,  willingly  and  happily  done,  is  the  best  sort 
of  exercise.  It  makes  strong  bodies,  clear  minds  and 
happy  hearts;  like  this  peasant  girl  who  sings  'The 
Song  of  the  Lark.7  77 

THINGS    TO    DO 

1.  Find  the  muscles  that  move  your  fingers.    Feel  these 
muscles  while  you  move  your  fingers,  as  if  you  were  prac- 
ticing scales  on  the  piano. 

2.  Find  the  big  muscle  that  bends  your  elbow  up  for 
you.    Feel  it  as  you  bend  the  arm. 

3.  Find  the  muscles  that  move  your  head  from  side 
to  side.     Feel  these  muscles.     How  do  all  muscles  feel 
when  they  are  working? 

4.  Can  you  "chin"  yourself?    What  muscles  help  you 
to  do  it? 

5.  If  you  can,  look  up  the  "setting-up"  exercises  used 
by  the  soldiers ;  how  many  of  these  have  you  tried?    How 
many  can  you  do? 

6.  Get  one  of  your  friends  to  try  with  you  the  Syrian 
wrestling  their  father  showed  Ruth  and  Paul.     Be  sure 
to  do  it  in  the  fresh  air. 

>-      2 


18  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

THINGS   TO  EEMEMBER 

Most  of  us  admire  strong,  handsome  people  and 
athletes.  There  are  four  things  a  person  must  do  to  be- 
come an  athlete  The  first  is :  to  eat  good  food  properly 
cooked;  the  second  is  to  take  plenty  of  sleep;  the  third 
is  to  keep  very  clean ;  and  the  fourth  is  to  exercise  in  the 
fresh  air. 

There  are  many  reasons  why  exercise  is  good  for  us. 
It  makes  the  heart  beat  faster  and  harder.  This  sends  the 
blood  racing  through  the  body  to  do  its  work  faster  and 
better.  Exercise  makes  us  perspire.  Exercise  makes  us 
warmer  than  before.  It  makes  us  breathe  faster  and 
deeper.  Exercise  makes  us  hungry.  It  also  helps  the 
stomach  to  digest  the  food,  if  we  do  not  take  the  exercise 
just  after  eating.  Exercise  makes  muscles  hard,  large, 
and  strong. 

Meat  is  only  another  name  for  muscle.  But  when 
muscles  are  alive  in  an  animal's  body,  they  are  very 
elastic,  that  is,  they  can  stretch  out  and  pull  together  with 
great  force.  They  are  fastened  to  our  bones  around 
joints.  Without  these  muscles,  to  stretch  or  pull,  we 
could  not  move.  Muscles  grow  with  use.  Exercise,  play, 
work,  are  ways  to  make  muscle  grow.  A  person  with 
quick,  well-trained  muscle  can  overcome  a  much  larger, 
stronger  person,  not  so  trained.  Do  you  know  anybody 
like  that? 

There  are  some  important  things  to  remember  about 
exercise. 

1.  Many  kinds  of  exercise  are  better  than  one  kind, 
because  different  kinds  of  exercise  use  different  parts  of 
the  body.  So  we  should  learn  to  swim,  play  tennis,  skate, 
play  ball,  row,  wrestle,  dance;  besides  the  things  we  do 
in  gymnasium. 

2.  The  best  place  for  exercise  is  in  the  fresh  air,  either 
outdoors  or  indoors  with  all  the  windows  open.  We  need 
much  air  when  we  exercise. 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  WILLOW  TREE  19 

3.  It  is  bad  to  exercise  just  after  eating. 

4.  Clothes  for  exercising  should  be  loose;  shoes  should 
be  soft  like  gym  shoes.    It  is  well  to  bathe  after  active 
exercise,    to    remove   the   perspiration.     Rub   the   skin 
very  dry  after  the  bath.     Cover  up,  when  you  are  hot, 
after  exercising. 

5.  The  more  fun  you  have,  the  more  good  you  get  from 
your  exercise. 

6.  Work  in  a  garden,  housework  with  windows  open, 
any  active  work  in  fresh,  clean  air,  is  as  fine  exercise  as 
many  games  are. 

THINGS  TO  THINK  ABOUT 

1.  If  you  want  to  be  athletic,  what  four  rules  of  train- 
ing must  you  follow?    Can  you  find  out  any  other  rules 
athletes  follow,  when  they  are  getting  ready  to  win  a 
game  or  a  "meet"? 

2.  This  story  tells  us  eight  ways  in  which  exercise  does 
us  good.    How  many  can  you  name  1 

3.  Why   is    it   better   for   boys    and   girls,    to    play 
many  kinds  of  games,  than  to  do  one  kind  of  exercise  in 
a  gymnasium? 

4.  Suppose  you  had  little  time  for  play — what  other 
ways  of  getting  good  exercise  are  there  for  you  if  you 
are  a  girl!  a  boy? 

5.  When  and  how  must  you  take  your  exercise,  to  get 
the  most  good  from  it? 


CHAPTER  III 
THE  LAND  OF  SOMNUS 

"I  WONDER  why  it  is,"  said  Mother  Weston,  one 
evening,  "that  children  never  want  to  go  to  bed? 
Paul  is  just  fighting  to  keep  away  the  Sandman." 

Paul,  who  really  was  very  sleepy  indeed,  sat  up 
and  tried  to  look  wide-awake.  "There  isn't  any 
Sandman,"  he  said. 

"Maybe  not,"  answered  Father,  "but  almost  ever 
since  the  world  began,  people  have  made  believe  that 
there  was  one.  Would  you  like  to  see  an  old,  old 
picture  of  him?" 

"Oh,  yes !"  cried  Ruth  and  Paul  together. 

Daddy  went  to  the  book-case  and  brought  out 
a  big  book  full  of  pictures.  ' '  Oh, ' '  said  Ruth, ' '  I  know 
some  of  the  stories  in  that  book.  Miss  Scott  reads 
them  to  us.  They  are  all  about  the  Roman  and  Greek 
gods  and  giants  and  fairies. ' ' 

"Yes,"  said  Father,  "one  of  the  stories  that  the 
Romans  used  to  tell  long  ago  was  about  our  Sandman 
—the  god  of  Sleep,  or  'Somnus,'  as  they  called  him. 
Here  is  an  old  picture  of  him.  One  of  the  Roman 
poets  tells  about  the  cave  where  Somnus  slept.  It 
was  perfectly  dark  and  still.  No  cock  dared  to  crow, 
nor  dog  to  bark.  The  only  sound  was  the  low  murmur 
of  the  river  Lethe,  the  river  of  f orgetf ulness.  At  the 
entrance  of  the  cave,  on  a  couch  all  sprinkled  with 
stars,  lay  Somnus.  And  when  a  little  Roman  boy  or 
20 


THE  LAND  OP  SOMNUS  21 

girl  was  sleepy,  their  parents  didn't  say,  'Here  comes 
the  Sandman/  but  'Somnus  is  shaking  his  horn  full 
of  dreams  over  you/ 

Paul  had  been  looking  at  the  picture.  "Yes,"  he 
said,  "here  is  the  horn  with  the  dreams  spilling  out, 
and  here  are  the  pop- 
pies— but  what  is  this 
lizard  for?" 

"The  artist  put 
that  in,"  explained 
Father,  "because  liz- 
ards, frogs,  woodchucks, 
and  a  good  many 
other  animals  burrow  into  the  ground  and  sleep 
all  winter. 

"Oh  dear!  How  stupid!"  exclaimed  Euth.  "No 
skating  or  coasting,  or  Christmas  presents !  I  'm  glad 
I'm  not  a  lizard." 

"Why  do  we  have  to  sleep  at  all?"  asked  Paul. 
"It's  an  awful  waste  of  time." 

"No,  indeed,"  said  Mother,  '"While  you  are 
asleep,  your  body  is  mending  itself  and  growing  and 
getting  ready  for  the  next  day's  work  and  play.  You 
grow  a  great  deal  in  your  sleep — that's  why  babies 
and  children,  who  are  growing,  need  so  much  more 
sleep  than  grown-ups." 

"How   much  sleep  do  I  need?" 

' '  Well, ' '  said  Mother, ' '  when  you  were  a  tiny  baby, 
you  slept  most  of  the  time.  As  you  grew  older,  you 
took  a  nap  in  the  afternoon  and  went  to  bed  at  six 
o'clock.  Now  that  you  are  eight  years  old,  you  go  to 
bed  at  seven  and  get  up  at  seven." 


22  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

"That  makes  twelve  hours,'7  said  Ruth.  " I  go  to 
bed  at  half -past  seven,  so  that  makes  eleven  and  a  half 
hours  for  me.  Dorothy  Frost  says  she  never  goes 
to  bed  until  she  wants  to.  Sometimes  she  doesn't  go 
until  ten  o'clock." 

"Yes,"  said  Father,  "and  I  think  you  said 
Dorothy  was  at  the  foot  of  the  class,  didn't  you?" 

"Yes,  she  is,"  admitted  Ruth.  "I  never  thought 
of  it  before,  but  I  suppose  her  brain  doesn't  have  time 
to  get  rested." 

"Another  thing  to  remember,"  put  in  Mother,  "is 
to  go  to  bed  at  the  same  time  every  night.  You  are 
much  more  likely  to  go  straight  to  sleep." 

Paul  had  been  looking  at  the  picture  again  ?  ' '  Why 
does  Sam — What's  his  name?" 

"Somnus,"  said  Mother,  "that's  the  Latin  name 
for  Sleep." 

4  <  Why  does  Somnus  sleep  in  a  cave  ? ' ' 

"Because  it's  so  dark  and  quiet,"  replied  Father. 
"You  know  how  much  nicer  it  is  to  sleep  in  a  dark, 
quiet  room.  That's  why  Mother  won't  leave  the  light 
burning  in  your  bedroom.  And  the  stillness  is  one 
reason  why  we  sleep  so  well  in  the  country — for  noise 
tires  us  even  in  our  sleep." 

"The  only  time  I  ever  had  to  try  to  go  to  sleep," 
said  Ruth,  "was  last  Christmas  Eve.  I  was  so  ex- 
cited and  so  anxious  to  know  what  was  in  my  stocking 
that  I  just  couldn't  go  to  sleep." 

"I  remember,"  laughed  Mother.  "It's  hard  to 
sleep  when  we  are  excited  or  worried.  Sometimes, 
too,  a  very  hearty  dinner  will  keep  you  awake  working 


THE  LAND  OF  SOMNUS 


to  digest  it.    That  is  why  I  never  let  you  children  have 
meat  or  anything  very  hearty  at  night." 

Ruth  had  been  hunting  in  her  school-bag,  in  the 
closet.  Now  she  came  out  with  a  picture  in  her  hand. 
"When  I  was  at  Aunt  Louise's  yesterday,"  she  said, 
"she  gave  me  a  picture 
of  the  baby  asleep  out- 
doors in  his  new  sleep- 
ing-bag. I  almost 
forgot  to  show  it  to  you. 
Isn't  he  charming?" 

"Yes,  and  he  is  such 
a  healthy,  good  baby," 
said  Mother.  "Aunt  Louise  thinks  it's  because  he  is 
outdoors  almost  all  the  time.  It  is  very  important  to 
have  lots  of  fresh  air  when  we  sleep.  The  very  nicest 
thing  is  to  sleep  outdoors,  but  if  we  can't  do  that, 
the  window  should  be  wide  open,  top  and  bottom." 

"I  remember,"  said  Father,  "that  when  I  was 
a  little  boy,  people  had  an  idea  that  night  air  was  dan- 
gerous. Lots  of  people  slept  with  their  windows  shut 
tight ;  but  it  always  made  me  wake  up  headachy  and 
stupid,  so  I  decided  that  night  air  was  just  as  good 
as  any  other  kind." 

"When  I  was  little,"  said  Mother,  "I  used  to  visit 
my  grandmother  in  the  country,  and  she  had  a  great, 
big  feather-bed,  so  high  that  I  had  to  climb  on  a  chair 
to  jump  into  it.  I  used  to  jump  as  high  as  I  could 
and  come  down  plump,  with  the' bed  all  puffed  up 
around  me." 

"What  fun!  "said  Paul. 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


"Yes,  but  the  feathers  were  so  hot  to  sleep  on.  I 
used  to  get  all  in  a  perspiration  and  didn't  sleep  half 
so  well  as  on  my  mattress  at  home. ' ' 

While  Mother  was  talking,  Father  had  opened  a 
big  book  marked  "History  of  France."    "Here,  chil- 
dren, "  he  said,  "is  a  bed  that 
belonged  to  King  Louis  the 
Fourteenth  of  France." 

"My,  isn't  it  splendid!" 
exclaimed  Ruth.  '  '  Just  look 
at  the  red  silk  curtains  and 
all  the  gold  embroidery  on 
the  quilt!" 

' '  I  wouldn  't  want  to  sleep 
in  it,  though,"  said  Mother. 
"Those  curtains  would  cut 
off  all  the  air,  and  I'm  sure 
the  quilt  would  be  dreadfully  heavy.  Besides,  how 
could  you  wash  it  and  keep  it  clean?" 

"And  I  wouldn't  like  those  high  pillows  a  bit," 
added  Paul. 

"Neither  would  I,"  echoed  Father.  "High  pil- 
lows bend  your  neck  and  make  your  chest  hollow  and 
your  shoulders  round.  It's  much  better  to  have  a 
low  pillow  or  none  at  all. ' ' 

"But,"  laughed  Mother,  "perhaps  we  need  not 
pity  King  Louis  very  much,  for  he  had  four  hundred 
and  twelve  other  beds,  they  say ;  so  if  he  lay  awake  in 
this  bed,  he  could  get  up  and  try  another." 

"In  my  geography,"  said  Euth,  "there's  a  picture 
of  a  Japanese  boy's  bed.  Here  it  is.  Look,  Daddy, 


THE  LAND  OF  SOMNUS 


he's  lying  on  a  piece  of  matting  on  the  floor,  with  just 
this  roll  under  his  neck  for  a  pillow." 

"Sure  enough,"  answered  Father,  "but  he  looks 
very  comfortable.  If  he  were  on  his  back,  he  might 
have  a  nightmare,  or  if  he  were  all  doubled  up  into  a 
ball,  he  might  wake 
up  stiff,  but  he's 
lying  as  he  should, 
on  his  right  side, 
with  his  legs  out 
straight." 

"It's  an  awfully 
funny  bed,"  said 
Paul. 

"No  funnier  than 
your  bed  would  seem 
to  him,  Paul,"  said 
Mother.  "The  Japanese  ways  of  living  are  not  quite 
like  ours,  but  they  must  be  pretty  sensible,  for  the 
Japanese  are  strong,  clever,  healthy  people." 

' '  Daddy, ' '  asked  Euth, ' '  did  you  say  that  the  juice 
of  poppies  could  put  people  to  sleep  ?" 

"Yes,  one  sort  of  poppy  is  used  in  making  opium. 
Opium  will  put  you  to  sleep,  but  it  is  very,  very  dan- 
gerous, for  a  large  dose  will  kill  you.  Besides,  you 
can  easily  get  into  the  habit  of  taking  opium  and  not 
be  able  to  do  without  it.  Some  people  are  silly  enough 
to  take  medicine  to  help  them  sleep  and  such  medi- 
cines usually  contain  opium.  Some  mothers  even  give 
the  baby  soothing-syrup  and  other  medicine  to  make 
it  stop  crying  and  go  to  sleep." 


26  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

"Our  teacher  read  us  a  story  about  Rip  Van 
Winkle,"  said  Paul.  "Some  little  dwarfs  gave  him 
some  whiskey  to  drink  and  he  slept  for  years  and 
years  and  years." 

"I  know  some  people,"  said  Father,  "who  really 
do  drink  liquor  to  put  them  to  sleep,  but  it  is  very 
bad  for  them.  Instead  of  waking  up  fresh  and  bright, 
and  ready  for  work,  the  people  who  use  opium  and 
liquor  to  put  them  to  sleep  wake  feeling  dull 
and  heavy." 

"Paddy,"  said  Ruth,  "where  do  we  go  when 
we  sleep?" 

"That  is  something  that  nobody,  not  even  the 
wisest  man  in  the  world,  knows,  Ruthie.  The  Romans 
used  to  have  an  altar  to  the  god  of  Sleep  and  pray  to 
him  to  take  care  of  them  while  they  were  in  the  land 
of  dreams ;  but  no  one  knows  where  that  land  is,  or 
just  how  and  why  we  go  there." 

"I  think,"  said  Mother,  "the  best  way  to  have 
sweet  dreams  is  to  go  to  bed  happy.  When  I  get  into 
bed,  I  think  of  all  the  nice  things  that  have  happened 
all  day.  Then  I  remember  all  the  beautiful  things 
that  I  have  enjoyed — the  sky  and  sunshine  and  flowers 
and  music.  Last  of  all,  I  think  of  all  the  people  I 
love  and  I  wish  the  whole  world  'Good  Night  and 
Swreet  Dreams. ' 

Father  took  down  from  the  bookcase  an  old  book. 
"Here,"  he  said,  "is  a  picture  of  the  dream  fairies. 
You  see  the  little  girl  has  her  window  wide  open  so 
the  fairies  can  came  in.  She  has  a  nice,  clean,  white 
bed,  with  warm,  light  blankets  and  a  low  pillow." 


THE  LAND  OF  SOMNUS 


28  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

'  *  It's  time  for  you  two  youngsters  to  go  and  get 
ready  for  the  dream  fairies,  yourselves,"  said  Mother. 

' 'All  right,"  answered  Ruth,  "and  when  I'm  in 
bed,  I'll  try  your  plan  and  think  of  all  the  lovely 
things  and  people  in  the  world.  Then  Somnus  will 
shake  some  nice  dreams  out  of  his  horn  for  me." 

THINGS    TO    DO 

1.  Let  us  make  a  chart  to  show  how  much  sleep  we 
are  getting.    Get  a  long  piece  of  paper,  and  measure  off 
on  it,  a  band  %  inch  wide  and  12  inches  long.    Mark  off 
on  it,  the  half  inches.    Every  y2  inch  will  represent  one 
hour.     Call  the  first  %  inch,  1  o'clock  at  night;  call  the 
second  y2  inch,  2  o'clock,  and  so  on,  until  you  come  to 
12  o  'clock,  noon.    Call  the  next  mark  1  o  'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, the  next,  2  o'clock,  and  so  on,  up  to  12  o'clock  mid- 
night.   What  time  did  you  get  up  this  morning?    Put  a 
mark  at  this  time,  on  your  scale.    What  time  did  you  go  to 
bed  last  night?    Put  a  mark  at  this  hour,  on  your  scale. 
Now  blacken  the  parts  of  your  scale  when  you  slept.  Now 
you  have  a  sleep-map.    How  many  hours  did  you  sleep? 
Is  this  enough! 

2.  How  many  children  slept  8  hours?  9  hours?  10 
hours?  11  hours?    Draw  a  "sleep-tower"  on  the  black- 
board, 8  inches  high  and  1  inch  wide.    Under  it,  write 
the  number  of  children  who  slept  8  hours.    Do  the  same 
for  9  hours,  10  hours,  11  hours.    Which  sleep-tower  had 
the  most  children  in  it  ?    Which  should  have  had  the  most  ? 

3.  These  are  your  "Sandman"  charts.     Keep  them 
on  the  board  and  put  the  date  on  them.    Write  under  each 
tower,  every  day,  the  number  of  children  who  belong 
there  that  day.     See  how  many  children  can  belong  in 
the  10-hour  tower. 

4.  Form  a  ' '  Sandman  Brigade. ' '    To  belong  to  it,  each 
child  must  sleep  10  hours  with  the  windows  open,  without 


THE  LAND  OF  SOMNUS  29 

a  light  in  the  room.  You  might  weigh  yourself  when  you 
join  the  brigade,  and  after  you  have  been  a  faithful  mem- 
ber for  one  month,  to  see  if  you  have  gained  in  weight. 

THINGS   TO  BEMEMBEB 

We  must  have  sleep,  because  during  sleep  we  grow. 
We  also  rest  the  parts  of  the  body  which  have  been  work- 
ing during  the  day.  Then,  too,  the  body  repairs  during 
sleep  any  of  its  parts  which  have  been  worn  out  during 
the  day. 

Children  need  more  sleep  than  grown  people,  because 
they  are  growing  so  fast.  Children  play  and  move  about 
more  than  grown  people,  and  need  more  rest.  At  six 
years  children  need  from  11  to  13  hours  of  sleep.  From 
six  to  eight  years,  they  need  from  12  to  10  hours  of  sleep ; 
from  eight  to  ten  years,  they  need  from  11  to  10  hours  of 
sleep,  and  from  ten  to  fourteen  years,  they  need  from  11 
to  9  hours. 

To  get  the  greatest  benefit  from  sleep  we  should  try 
to  do  these  things: 

We  should  sleep  long  enough. 

We  should  go  to  bed  and  get  up  at  the  same  hours 
every  day. 

We  should  have  our  bedrooms  %dark  and  quiet. 

We  should  do  nothing  to  make  us  nervous,  such  as 
drinking  tea,  or  coffee  at  any  time,  or  going  to  "  movies  " 
at  night. 

We  should  eat  only  light  suppers  of  easily  digested, 
plain  foods,  as  cereals,  milk,  fruit,  bread  and  butter,  never 
tea  or  coffee. 

We  should  open  wide  at  least  one  window,  so  as  to 
have  fresh  air  in  our  rooms. 

We  should  have  our  bodies  and  sleeping  clothes  clean 
and  sweet. 

We  should  use  low  pillows,  or  none. 


30  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

We  should  sleep  on  the  right  side,  with  the  legs  out 
straight,  not  on  the  back,  or  doubled  up  in  a  ball. 

We  should  try  to  think  about  pleasant  things  before 
we  go  to  sleep,  so  as  to  have  pleasant  dreams. 

THINGS  TO  THINK  ABOUT 

1.  Why  do  little  babies  need  to  sleep  nearly  all  the 
time,  while  grown  people  need  to  sleep  only  about  8  hours  1 

2.  What  happens  to  us,  if  we  often  lose  sleep,  by  stay- 
ing up  too  late,  or  by  eating  or  drinking  harmful  things  ? 

3.  Our  story  tells  us  things  we  can  do  to  sleep  well, 
every  night.    Which  do  you  do?    Which  do  you  not  do? 
Cannot  you  try  to  do  these  things  also,  so  as  to  do  all 
nine?    Your  teacher  will  ask  you  this  question  again  in 
a  week,  so  you  may  know  how  much  you  have  improved. 

(NOTE.  If  there  is  a  scale  in  the  school,  weekly  weight 
graphs  should  be  kept  simultaneously  with  the  sleep 
charts.  Comparison  of  these  graphs  will  prove  effective 
in  convincing  under-weight  children  and  their  parents  of 
the  importance  of  proper  sleep.) 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  AIR-ROAD 

IT  was  a  cool  evening  and  Paul  sat  on  his  father's 
knee  eating  popcorn  before  the  open  fire.  Mrs. 
Weston  was  stroking  puss,  who  lay  curled  in  her  lap. 
It  was  Ruth  who  had  begged  for  the  corn,  and  as 
Father  said,  she  seemed  to  enjoy  popping  it  over  the 
fire  almost  as  much  as  popping  it  into  her  mouth.  She 
had  just  taken  a  rather  large  mouthful  when  she  sud- 
denly choked  and  coughed  until  Mother  had  to  pat 
her  on  the  back.  When 
she  could  speak,  she 
gasped,  "Oh  dear,  that 
corn  must  have  gone  the 
wrong  way. ' ' 

"What  is  the  wrong 
way?"  asked  Paul. 

"Why,  I  don't  quite 
know,"  admitted  Ruth. 
"What  way  can  food  go 
except  right  down  into 
your  stomach,  Daddy?" 

"Wait  a  moment." 
said  Father,  "and  I'll  draw  you  a  map  of  the  air-road 
and  the  food-road.  Now,  if  your  head  and  neck 
were  made  of  glass,  you  could  see  the  corn  going 
into  your  mouth  like  this,  being  chewed  fine  and 
going  on  down  this  'little,  red  lane.'  That  is  the 

31 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


food-road  and  leads  to  the  stomach.  But  here,  at 
your  nostrils,  the  air  is  being  drawn  in.  It  goes  down 
back  of  your  mouth  and  into  this  other  lane.  I  sus- 
pect Ruth's  corn  started  to  go  down  this  air-road,  in- 
stead of  keeping  to  the  food-path." 

"If  it  had  kept  on  down  that  lane,  where  would  it 
have  gone  to1?"  asked  Paul. 

"It  would  have  finally  gotten  into  Ruth's  lungs 

and     she    might     have 
died." 

Ruth     looked     very 
serious.     "Does  every- 
thing breathe,  Daddy?" 
"Yes,       everything 
that   is   alive!    All   the 
animals    and    even   the 
trees  and  plants.     The 
plants  breathe  through 
their    leaves    and    the 
worms  through  their 
skin.    It  is   only  what 
we  call ' higher '  animals  that  have  lungs." 
"I'd  like  to  see  my  lungs,"  said  Ruth. 
"I'm    afraid    you    wouldn't    think    them    very 
pretty,"  laughed  Mother. 

Father  drew  another  picture.  "Now  here,"  he 
said,  "are  the  lungs,  with  the  air-road,  or  'wind-pipe,' 
as  it  is  called,  going  into  them.  They  are  full  of  tiny 
holes  like  a  sponge,  and  the  air  rushes  in  and  fills 
them,  just  as  water  fills  a  sponge.  Put  your  hands 
on  your  sides  and  take  a  deep  breath." 


THE  AIR-ROAD 


S3 


' '  Oh, ' '  said  Ruth, ' '  I  can  feel  my  lungs  all  swelled 
out ;  but  what  makes  the  air  come  out  again  ? ' ' 

"Just  as  the  water  comes  out  of  the  sponge — by 
being  squeezed.  Here  are  your  ribs,  like  a  cage  around 
your  lungs.  When  the  air  is  ready  to  be  squeezed 
out,  the  ribs  are  pressed  together.  If  you  feel,  you'll 
see  how  the  ribs  come  together  and  the  lungs 
get  smaller." 

The  fire  was  getting  rather  low,  so  Mother  picked 
up  the  bellows  and  blew  until  a 
bright  blaze  shot  up.  Father 
took  the  bellows  and  held  it  up. 
"There,"  he  said,  "these  bellows 
work  very  much  as  your  lungs 
do.  When  the  sides  are  apart, 
like  this,  the  air  comes  in  through 
the  nose  of  the  bellows ;  when  the 
sides  are  pushed  together,  like 
this,  the  air  is  pushed  out 
through  the  bellows'  nose,  just 
as  the  air  comes  out  through 
^/oifrnose." 

Paul,  with  tightly  closed  mouth,  and  fingers  pinch- 
ing his  nose  together,  was  trying  to  see  how  long  he 
could  hold  his  breath.  "  I  '11  time  you,  Paul, ' '  said  his 
Mother.  So,  watch  in  hand,  she  timed  both  children. 
Paul  could  hold  his  breath  twenty  seconds,  while  Ruth 
was  delighted  to  find  that  she  could  hold  hers 
twenty-five. 

' '  That  is  doing  well, ' '  said  Father.    ' '  There  ar en 't 
many  people  who  can  hold  their  breath  very  much 
3 


34  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

more  than  thirty  seconds ;  but  the  negro  divers,  who 
go  down  without  any  diving-suits,  can  learn,  through 
practice,  to  stay  under  water  two  or  three  minutes." 

"But,"  said  Ruth,  "I  don't  see  wliy  we  need  air." 

"I  might  talk  a  long  time  and  use  a  great  many 
long  words,  Ruth,"  said  her  Father,  "without  making 
you  understand  any  better.  We  need  air  because 
Mother  Nature  made  us  that  way.  Air  helps  our 
bodies  to  turn  the  food  into  flesh  and  blood  and  bones, 
just  as  the  air  from  the  bellows  helps  the  fire  to  burn 
the  wood.  If  it  has  no  air,  the  fire  goes  out.  If  our 
bodies  have  no  air,  they  die." 

There  was  a  silence  broken  only  by  pussy's  loud, 
contented  purr. 

"When  I  was  little,"  said  Ruth,  "I  used  to  think 
that  pussy  was  snoring." 

"How  unfair  to  pussy,"  laughed  Mother.  "She 
is  much  too  polite  and  sensible  to  snore.  People  who 
snore  breathe  through  their  mouths,  and  you  never 
see  pussy  cats  doing  that." 

"Bill  Jones  breathes  through  his  mouth,"  said 
Paul.  "It  makes  him  look  awfully  stupid  and  the 
boys  all  call  him  'Fly-catcher.' 

"Perhaps,"  said  Father,  "he  can't  help  it.  You 
know  there  are  a  sort  of  lumps  called  ' adenoids'  that 
grow  up  here  in  back  of  your  nose  and  block  the  air- 
road,  so  you  have  to  open  your  mouth  to  breathe." 

"Of  course,  it  looks  stupid,  but  does  it  really  hurt 
to  breathe  through  your  mouth  ?"  asked  Ruth. 

"It  certainly  does,"  replied  her  Father.  "The 
nose  has  a  special  sort  of  lining  and  tiny  hairs  to  catch 


THE  AIR-ROAD  35 

the  dirt.  Blow  your  nose  on  a  dusty  day  and  just  see 
how  much  dust  it  catches.  Then,  too,  the  air  going 
through  the  long,  crooked  passages  of  the  nose  gets 
warmed.  If  you  breathe  through  your  mouth,  you 
swallow  all  the  dirt  and  your  mouth  and  throat  get 
dry  and  uncomfortable. " 

"Can  adenoids  be  cured?"  asked  Ruth. 

"Oh,  yes,  the  doctor  can  take  them  out  easily 
enough.  But  lots  of  children  breathe  through  their 
mouths  just  because  they  have  gotten  into  the  habit." 

"I  watched  Grandpa  when  he  took  his  nap,  yes- 
terday, ' 7  put  in  Paul.  ' '  His  mouth  fell  wide  open  and 
he  snored  like  a  saw-mill." 

Mother  smiled.  "I'm  afraid  poor  Grandpa  was 
lying  on  his  back.  That  is  very  likely  to  make  you 
snore.  When  I  was  a  little  girl,  I  used  to  sleep  on 
my  back  and  it  made  me  snore  dreadfully,  so  my  older 
sister  tied  a  spool  on  a  string  and  fastened  it  around 
my  waist  so  the  spool  came  right  in  the  middle  of  my 
back.  It  cured  me  of  sleeping  on  my  back,  I  can  tell 
you,  and  I  have  never  snored  since." 

"Most  people,"  said  Father,  "breathe  with  only 
part  of  their  lungs.  You  ought  to  practice  blowing 
every  bit  of  air  out  of  your  lungs  and  then  slowly  let 
the  air  in  through  your  nose  until  you  can't  hold  any 
more.  If  you  do  this  eight  or  ten  times  at  the  open 
window  every  morning,  before  you  dress,  it  will  make 
you  feel  fresh  and  ready  for  the  day.  Your  lungs 
need  to  be  washed  with  fresh  air,  just  as  you  wash 
your  face  with  clean  water." 

"Why  do  this  before  we  dress  V9  asked  Paul. 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


"Because  I 
new   soap- 


"Because  sometimes  our  belts  are  a  little  tight," 
replied  Mother,  "so  our  ribs  and  lungs  can't  swell 
out  as  they  should.  That's  one  reason  why  I  always 
see  that  you  children  have  loose  clothing." 

"Isn't  blowing  soap-bubbles  good  exercise  for  our 

lungs  ?  "       asked 
Euth. 
need   a 
bubble  pipe." 

Father  laughed. 
"It  looks  as  if  I'd 
have  to  buy  one  for 
the  sake  of  your 
lungs,  Euthie,"  he 
said,  "for  soap- 
bubbles  are  very 
pretty  and  very 
good  lung-exer- 
cisers, especially 
outdoors  in  the 
clean  air." 

"Isn't  the  in- 
door air  clean?" 
asked  Paul. 

"That  depends,"  said  Mother.  "I've  gone  into 
stores  and  moving-picture  houses,  and  even  into  some 
homes  where  I  could  smell  the  dirty  air.  You  see,  air 
that  has  been  washing  a  lot  of  lungs  is  just  as  dirty 
as  water  that  has  washed  a  lot  of  faces." 

"Sometimes,"  said  Euth,  "it  gets  smelly  at  school, 
but  Miss  Scott  opens  the  windows  at  the  top  and  bot- 


THE  AIR-ROAD  37 


torn.  She  says  the  good  air  comes  in  at  the  bottom 
and  the  bad  air  goes  out  at  the  top." 

"That  is  a  very  good  way  to  freshen  the  air,"  said 
Father,  "and  it  also  helps  if  the  air  is  kept  moving 
with  some  sort  of  fan,  so  that  the  warm,  used  air  is 
moved  away,  and  cooler,  unused  air  is  brought  to  us. 
When  I  was  in  India,  years  ago,  we  had  great  fans 
like  this  and  water-jars  like  that/'  He  sketched  and 
showed  the  children  this  picture.  "A  little  Hindoo 
boy  used  to  sit  and  pull  the  fan  so  as  to  keep  it  going, 
for  hours  at  a  time.  They  call  the  fan  a  l punkah.' 
The  water-jars  are  made  of  earthenware.  They  are 
filled  with  water  and  hung  in  a  window  or  door,  so 
that  the  air  blowing  past  them  is  made  moist 
and  cool." 

"Is  that  why  we  always  keep  pans  of  water  on 
the  top  of  the  steam  radiators?"  asked  Ruth. 

"Yes ;  hot,  dry  air  is  bad  for  one's  nose  and  throat, 
so  it  is  well  to  keep  the  air  damp  with  pans  of  water." 

"Daddy,"  said  Paul,  "does  smoking  really  hurt 
you?  Bill  Jones  says  his  father  smokes  and  he's 
going  to  start  pretty  soon." 

"It  surely  does  hurt,"  Father  replied,  "and  I  do 
hope  Billy  will  leave  it  alone.  You  see,  Paul,  tobacco 
has  a  poison  in  it,  and  the  man  or  boy  who  smokes  is 
breathing  in  poison  instead  of  the  good,  clean  air  that 
he  needs.  It's  especially  bad  for  children,  for  it 
makes  them  stupid  in  their  lessons,  poor  at  baseball 
and  other  games,  and  keeps  them  from  growing. 
When  Mr.  Jones  was  a  boy,  people  did  not  realize 


38  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

what  harm  tobacco  does,  but  now  they  know,  and  any 
boy  who  smokes  is  a  goose. " 

After  a  moment,  Ruth  remarked,  "Miss  Scott 
says  perhaps  we  can  have  an  open-air  class  and  have 
lessons  up  on  the  roof." 

' '  That  will  be  fine, ' '  said  Father.  <  '  Here  is  a  pic- 
ture of  Dr.  Clarke's  little  girl  in  her  open-air 
class  suit." 

"She  looks  like  an  Eskimo,"  said  Ruth. 
"Yes,"  said  Mother,  "but  the  fresh  air  keeps  the 
class  feeling  so  well  that  I  hear  they  do  better  work 
than  any  other  class  in  school." 

"I  wish  we'd  have  a  class  like  that,"  sighed  Ruth. 
"Well,"  said  Mother,  "as  a  start  toward  getting 
more  fresh  air  for  you,  I'm  going  to  have  a  carpenter 
build  a  balcony.  Your  bed  and  Paul's  can  be  put  out 
there  and  you  can  sleep  all  night  in  the  good, 
fresh  air." 

That  night,  after  Mother  had  opened  the  window 
wide,  top  and  bottom,  had  tucked  her  in  and  kissed 
her  good-night,  Ruth  lay  listening  to  the  wind  in  the 
elm-tree  outside  her  window.  As  she  fell  asleep,  it 
seemed  to  be  singing  to  her : 

"Sweet  and  low,  sweet  and  low, 
Winds  of  Heaven  come  and  go. 
Cold  and  fierce,  or  warm  and  mild, 
Breathe  them  deeply,  Nature's  child, 
At  your  work  and  in  your  play, 
All  the  night  and  through  the  day, 
For  the  winds  of  Heaven  bring 
Life  and  joy  to  everything." 


THE  AIR-ROAD 


39 


40  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

THINGS  TO  DO 

1.  Sit  tall.    Put  your  hands  on  your  sides  and  take  a 
deep  breath,  then  put  one  hand  on  the  front  wall  of  your 
chest,  and  one  hand  on  the  back,  and  take  a  deep  breath. 
Feel  your  lungs  swelling  out.    How  much  can  they  swell  I 

2.  Let  your  teacher  take  your  chest  expansion.     Put 
it  down  in  a  place  where  you  won't  lose  it,  because  you 
will  want  to  look  it  up  in  a  few  months  to  see  if  you  have 
improved  it. 

3.  Bring  a  bellows  to  school  and  play  with  it,  till  you 
understand  it.    Then  see  that  it  works  very  much  as  our 
breathing  machinery  works. 

4.  Make  a  little  house  out  of  a  chalk  box,  so  as  to  see 
how  air  moves  when  we  ventilate  properly.     Stand  the 
box  up  on  its  narrow  end.  Cut  away  the  grooves  in  which 
the  lid  ran,  and  smooth  the  edges.    On  each  of  the  two 
sides,  bore  two  round  holes  for  windows,  one  near  the 
bottom,  one  near  the  top  of  the  box.  Find  four  corks  that 
will  close  these  windows.    Bore  another  hole  in  the  roof 
of  your  house,  and  get  a  lamp  chimney  to  put  over  it. 
Can  you  think  why?    Now  have  someone,  the  druggist, 
perhaps,  cut  a  piece  of  glass,  the  exact  size  of  the  opening 
of  your  box.    Fasten  this  on  with  a  strip  of  gummed  tape, 
for  a  door.    Arrange  a  latch.     (A  rubber  band  fastened 
to  the  glass  door  with  gummed  tape,  can  be  slipped  over 
a  tack  on  the  side  of  the  box.) 

To  use  your  house,  fasten  a  candle  on  the  floor,  under 
the  hole  in  the  roof.  Light  it.  Close  all  your  windows 
with  your  corks.  Close  your  door  tightly  and  watch  the 
candle.  After  it  has  gone  out,  light  it  again,  but  this  time, 
try  opening  different  windows.  Hold  a  piece  of  smoking 
incense  at  the  open  windows,  and  notice  where  the  smoke 
goes.  Find  out  which  combinations  of  open  windows, 
make  the  candle  burn  best.  Find  out  liow  the  air  moves 
each  time.  This  will  explain  why  the  candle  burns  best. 


THE  AIR-ROAD  41 

THINGS   TO   REMEMBER 

Every  living  thing  must  breathe.  Plants  breathe 
through  their  leaves.  Some  animals  breathe  through  their 
skins.  Fish  breathe  through  gills.  But  most  animals 
have  lungs.  Our  lungs  lie  in  a  sort  of  cage,  made  of 
bones  and  muscles.  If  these  muscles  are  strong,  we  can 
make  the  cage  or  chest  large.  Then  air  rushes  into  the 
lungs  and  fills  them  as  full  as  the  size  of  the  cage  permits. 
When  the  bones  and  muscles  of  the  chest  come  together 
again,  the  air  in  the  lungs  is  squeezed  out.  This  work 
our  bodies  do  regularly  for  us,  day  and  night.  It  is  impor- 
tant to  have  strong,  well  developed  chest  muscles  for 
this  work. 

We  cannot  live  without  air  any  more  than  the  candle 
in  your  experiment  could  burn  without  it.  But  we  must 
be  sure  that  the  air  goes  into  the  body  by  the  right  road — 
through  the  nose,  not  through  the  mouth.  The  little  hairs 
lining  the  nose  filter  out  much  dust  and  dirt.  The  moist, 
sticky  lining  of  the  nose  catches  more  dust,  perhaps 
some  germs.  It  also  moistens  the  air  for  us.  There  are 
thousands  of  tiny  little  blood-vessels,  inside  the  nose- 
lining,  which  are  like  very  small  steam  pipes  in  their  work. 
They  heat  the  air  on  its  way  to  the  lungs.  If  the  passage- 
way from  nose  to  lungs  is  stopped  by  adenoids,  the  nose 
cannot  help  us  these  ways.  Therefore  wise  doctors  think 
enlarged  adenoids  should  be  removed. 

Deep  breathing  through  the  nose  helps  to  exercise  our 
chest  muscles.  It  makes  the  blood  rush  faster  through 
our  lungs.  It  makes  us  feel  fresher  and  stronger.  It  helps 
us  to  stand  straight  and  tall.  These  things  help  our  bodies 
to  get  what  they  need  from  the  air.  The  more  hours  we 
spend  in  fresh  outside  air,  sleeping,  working  or  playing, 
the  stronger  we  become. 

If  the  windows  are  screened  to  keep  out  insects,  the 
night  air  in  your  bedroom  can  never  hurt  you.  People 
cannot  catch  cold  from  too  much  fresh  air. 


42  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

THINGS  TO  THINK  ABOUT 

1.  How  can  you  enlarge  your  chest  expansion? 

2.  How   would    a    large    chest    expansion   help   you 
in  swimming?    Kunning?    Skating!    Practice  your  rules 
for  one   month,   and   see   if  you  have   improved  your 
chest  expansion. 

3.  Can  you  show  that  the   bellows   works   as   your 
breathing  machinery  does? 

4.  Find  out  how  and  where  the  fresh  air  enters  your 
schoolroom.    How  and  where  the  used  air  leaves.   Find 
out  these  things  about  your  bedroom.  Your  living-room 
at  home.  Is  it  the  best  way!  How  could  it  be  improved? 

50  Why  is  it  good  to  breathe  through  the  nose? 

6.  How  will  it  benefit  you  to  take  ten  deep  breaths 
before  the  open  window  each  morning,  before  you  dress  ? 

7.  If  you  have  not  an  outdoor  sleeping  place,  what  is 
the  next  best  way  to  sleep ! 

8.  Do  lumbermen,  or  sailors,  have  many  colds?    Why? 
Will  you  catch  cold  by  going  outdoors  in  any  weather,  if 
you  keep  your  body  warm  and  dry? 


CHAPTER  V 
THE  WITCH,  INDIGESTION 

"I  HAD  a  queer  dream  last  night,"  said  Ruth  at 
Sunday  breakfast,  looking  up  from  her  saucer  of  oat- 
meal. "I  dreamed  that  I  found  a  castle  made  of 
bricks  of  sweet  chocolate.  All  the  chairs  were  made 
of  candy  and  the  round  tables  were  pies0  The  garden 
was  full  of  marshmallows  and  lollipops,  and  there  was 
a  fountain  of  soda-water." 

"My!    Did  you  eat  it  all?"  asked  Paul. 

"I  was  just  beginning  when  an  old  witch  came  out 
of  the  castle  and  caught  me  and  I  woke  up. ' ' 

"There  aren't  really  any  witches,  are  there, 
Daddy?"  said  Paul, 

"Well,"  Father  smiled,  "when  I  was  your  age, 
I  once  ate  a  whole  cocoanut  pie,  and  I  was  caught  by 
a  terrible  old  witch.  She  tied  me  up  in  a  knot  and 
stuck  pins  in  me,  all  night.  Her  name  was  Mrs. 
Stomach  Ache. " 

"Oh,  tell  us  a  story  about  her,  Daddy,"  pleaded 
Paul. 

"Go  on  eating  your  oatmeal  and  I  will,"  said 
Father.  "Mrs.  Stomach  Ache  and  her  brother,  Good 
Digestion,  live  in  a  little  house  like  this,  called  the 
stomach.  Leading  down  to  their  house,  is  a  long  road, 
like  this,  through  which  all  the  food  goes.  At  the 
entrance  to  the  road  is  a  mill  where  the  food  is 
ground  fine." 

43 


44 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


exclaimed    Ruth.     "You   mean    our 


"I  know!" 
teeth." 

"Yes,"  answered  her  father.  "Our  teeth  grind 
the  food  very  fine,  just  as  a  mill  grinds  the  wheat 
into  flour.  When  the  teeth  start  chewing,  the  saliva 
begins  to  run  into  our  mouths  and  mix  with  our  food. 
Soineiimes,  just  thinking  of  something  nice  to  eat, 

makes  the  saliva  start." 
"Wait  a  minute, 
Daddy, ' '  begged  Paul,  * '  I 
want  to  try  it."  For  a 
moment  he  was  quiet. 
Then  he  nodded  his  head 
excitedly.  ' '  I  thought  of 
molasses  candy — a  nice 
sticky  p  i  e  c  e — and  my 
mouth  is  just  as  wet  as 
can  be." 

"Well,  after  the  food 
is  all  ground  up  and  wet, 
what  happens  next ?" 
said  Ruth. 

"Next,"    said    her 
the    'red  lane'   to   the 


OESOPHAGUS 


DOWELS 


STOMACH 


"it   travels   down 
If  it  has  been  ground  fine  enough  and 


Father, 
stomach. 

if  it  is  simple  food,  well  cooked  and  clean,  Mrs. 
Stomach  Ache  will  sleep  peacefully  and  her  brother, 
Good  Digestion,  will  churn  the  food  into  a  sort 
of  thick  soup.  Then  he  will  push  it  into  the  long, 
winding  lane  which  we  call  the  bowels.  All  around 
them  is  a  mass  of  liny  tubes  full  of  blood.  The  food 


THE  WITCH,  INDIGESTION  45 

from  the  bowels  soaks  through  into  them  and  is  car- 
ried in  the  blood  all  over  the  body  to  help  you  grow  and 
make  you  strong  and  warm.  Any  part  of  the  food 
that  is  of  no  use  to  the  body  is  pushed  on  down  and 
passes  out  as  waste.  It  is  very  important  that  the 
bowels  should  be  emptied  every  day  at  a  fixed  time- 
otherwise  the  waste  may  poison  and  make  you  ill." 

"Why  did  Mrs.  Stomach  Ache  wake  up  and  get 
mad  when  you  ate  the  cocoanut  pie?"  asked  Paul. 

"Because  I  had  abused  her  brother,  Good  Diges- 
tion. That  always  makes  her  angry.  In  the  first 
place,  I  ate  the  pie  in  the  middle  of  the  afternoon, 
when  Good  Digestion  had  just  finished  working  over 
my  dinner  and  was  tired  and  wanted  to  rest.  Then, 
too,  I  was  afraid  of  being  caught,  so  I  gobbled  the  pie 
in  great  hunks  and  it  wasn't  half  chewed.  Besides, 
it  was  a  very  rich  pie,  with  lots  of  cocoanut  and  sugar 
in  it.  Things  that  are  very  sweet  and  rich,  or  heavy 
and  greasy,  take  longer  to  digest.  Another  trouble 
was  that  all  the  time  I  was  eating  the  pie  I  was 
afraid  and  unhappy  because  my  conscience  pricked 
me — and  you  know  that  if  you  are  feeling  unhappy, 
or  tired  or  worried,  it  upsets  Good  Digestion.  But 
perhaps  Mrs.  Stomach  Ache  would  not  have  minded 
—she  is  really  very  patient — if  I  had  not  eaten  so 
much.  But  it  was  a  pie  big  enough  for  a  whole  family ! 
Mrs.  Stomach  Ache  taught  me  such  a  lesson  that  my 
Mother  said  I  didn't  need  any  more  punishment.  But 
I've  never  wanted  to  look  at  a  cocoanut  pie  since." 

They  all  laughed  at  Father's  disgusted  face. 


46 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


"But,  Daddy, "  said  Ruth,  "does  Good  Digestion 
object  to  our  eating  any  tiling  between  meals  ?" 

"He  doesn't  usually  mind  a  little  ripe  fruit,  if  you 
chew  it  well,"  said  her  father,  "but  cake,  candy,  soda- 
water,  pickles  and  such  things  upset  him  so  that  when 
dinner  or  supper-time  comes,  you  aren't  hungry. 
Besides  that,  they  are  bad  for  your  teeth.7' 

"That's  like  a  picture  that  we  saw  when  Miss 
Scott  took  us  to  the  County  Fair  last  week,"  said 


Tommy  liad  a' tumtmr' \vkidi  He 
stuffed  \vitti  lollipops, 
Chocolate  and  soda  > taffy  and 
;  drops. 


Tommy  "has  dyspepsia  now; 

andgsut, 


doxit  -watch  out  !  " 


Ruth.  "Miss  Scott  said  the  bottles  of  glue  and  dye 
were  put  in  to  show  that  cheap  candy  and  soda  and 
ice-cream  were  full  of  all  kinds  of  bad  stuff." 

"But  I  do  love  candy,"  sighed  Paul. 

"Of  course  you  do,  Sonnie,"  said  Mother,  "and 
pure,  clean  candy  is  good  for  you — but  you  mustn't 
be  nibbling  at  it  all  the  time.  I've  decided  that  you 
and  Ruth  may  make  molasses  candy,  or  something 
like  that,  every  Saturday  afternoon.  You  must  not 
touch  it  between  meals,  but  you  may  each  have  a  few 
pieces  every  day  for  dessert." 


THE  WITCH,  INDIGESTION 


47 


" Goody!"  shouted  Ruth.  "It's  lots  more  fun  to 
make  it  than  to  buy  it." 

"I  never  knew  before,"  said  Paul,  "that  candy 
is  good  for  us.  I  always  thought  everything  nice  was 
bad  for  me." 

"Dear  me,  no!"  said  Father.  "The  only  trouble 
is  that  most  children  eat  cheap,  poor  candy,  or  eat  it 
between  meals,  or  are  piggy  and  eat  too  much  of  it. 
Our  bodies  need  different  kinds  of  food  to  use  in 
different  ways.  Some 
kinds  of  food  are  made 
into  muscles  and  bones. 
Some  kinds  help  us  to 
keep  warm  and  strong, 
so  we  can  work  and  play. 
We  mustn't  eat  too  much 
of  any  one  sort.  That 
is  why  we  never  have 
just  meat  for  dinner. 
Mother  gives  us  also 
some  potatoes,  or  rice, 
or  macaroni,  and  some 


sort  of  green  vegetable, 
like  string  beans,  or  spin- 
ach, or  lettuce. ' ' 

"Rover  likes  candy, 
too,"  said  Ruth,  "and  so 
does  the  pony." 

"Yes,"  said  Mother,  "and  bears  like  sweet  things. 
Once  I  saw  a  bear  who  had  dug  some  wild  honey  out 
of  a  hollow  tree.  He  was  sitting  on  the  ground  licking 


Said  dapper  Mr.Date  io  dried 

but  sweet MssTig, 
~^Why  is  it  "Master  Samrny  is 

so  healthy  and  so  Irig?" 
Saidshe.Upon  cheap  goodies, 

he  never  spends  his  money; 
tfe loves  raisins,figs  and  dates, 
maple  sugar  andpurehoney.'1 


48  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

his  sticky  paws  just  like  Paul  with  a  piece  of  taffy." 
They  all  laughed  until  Paul  began  to  look  a  little 
red  and  uncomfortable.  " Never  mind,  Son,"  said 
Father,  "it  only  shows  that  you  and  Mr.  Bruin  know 
what  is  good.  Now  here  are  a  picture  and  verse  that 
tell  not  what  sweets  are  bad,  but  which  sweets  are  the 
best  to  eat." 

"Dorothy  Frost  eats  candy  and  pickles  under  her 
desk-lid  at  school,  all  the  time,"  said  Ruth.     "She 


lives  right  next  door  to  school,  but  she  never  gets  up 
till  eight  o'clock.  She  told  me  yesterday  that  all 
she  had  time  to  eat  for  breakfast  was  a  cup  of  coffee 
and  a  doughnut." 

6  i  Is  Dorothy  good  at  her  lessons  ? ' '  asked  Mother. 

' '  Oh,  no ! "  Ruth  shook  her  head  very  hard.  ' '  She 's 
almost  the  dullest  girl  in  the  class.  And  at  recess,  she 
just  sits  round  and  talks  secrets  instead  of  playing 
tag  with  the  rest." 

"What  are  you  drawing,  Father?"  asked  Mother. 

"Just  a  little  sketch  of  Miss  Dorothy,"  said 
Father. 


THE  WITCH,  INDIGESTION 


50  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

" What's  the  name  of  the  picture ?"  demanded 
Paul. 

"I  suggest/'  said  Mother,  "that  we  call  it  'Dull 
Dorothy  Devouring  Doughnuts.'  " 

"It's  too  bad  to  make  fun  of  poor  Dorothy,"  said 
Father.  "We  might  call  it,  'Pale  Polly  Prefers 
Pickles,'  or  'Foolish  Fannie  Fancies  Fried  Food.'  " 

"O  Daddy,  what  crazy  things  you  and  Mother 
think  of!"  laughed  Ruth. 

"Now  make  us  a  picture  of  a  nice  healthy  little 
girl  eating  a  good  breakfast,"  said  Paul. 

"All  right,"  agreed  Father,  "here  she  is." 

"Now  what  shall  we  call  her0?"  cried  Ruth. 

"Father  will  have  to  name  her  some  other  time," 
said  Mother.  "If  you  children  don't  stop  talking,  it 
will  be  dinner-time.  Not  another  word,  or  we  shall 
all  be  late  for  church." 

THINGS   TO  REMEMBER 

Many  parts  of  our  bodies  help  in  good  digestion.  Our 
teeth  must  grind  food  very  fine.  Saliva  must  mix  with 
it.  After  this,  it  goes  to  the  stomach.  Muscles  in  the 
stomach  mix  up  the  food  still  more.  All  the  time  it  is 
being  digested,  if  it  is  clean,  well  cooked,  wholesome  food. 
Then  it  is  pushed  into  the  bowels  or  intestines.  Around 
the  intestines  are  thousands  of  tiny  blood-vessels.  The 
digested  food  from  the  intestines  soaks  into  these  tiny 
blood-vessels.  The  blood-vessels  then  carry  the  food  all 
over  the  body  to  keep  us  warm  and  help  us  to  grow.  The 
undigested  part  of  the  food  is  of  no  use  to  us.  It  is 
pushed  on,  and  passes  out  of  the  body  as  waste.  If  the 
bowels  are  not  emptied  every  day,  of  this  waste,  it  may 
make  us  very  ill. 


THE  WITCH,  INDIGESTION  51 

Kemember  to  do  these  things,  because  they  help  us  to 
have  good  digestion.  Eat  meals  at  regular  times,  includ- 
ing the  school  luncheon.  Sweets  between  meals  are 
harmful.  Eat  slowly  enough  to  chew  well.  Eat  simple 
foods.  Never  eat  too  much  especially  of  sweet,  rich  food. 
Try  to  be  happy  and  cheerful  at  meals.  A  good  laugh 
helps  digestion. 

Good  foods  for  children  are  cereals,  fruits,  vegetables, 
milk,  eggs,  fish,  cottage  cheese,  a  little  meat,  butter.  Candy 
is  good,  if  it  is  pure,  such  as  homemade  candies,  and  if  it 
is  eaten  a  little  at  a  time  as  dessert,  not  on  an  empty 
stomach.  Such  foods  make  muscle  and  bone,  keep  us 
warm,  and  protect  us  from  sickness. 

Bad  foods  for  children  are  coffee  and  tea ;  fried  foods 
of  all  kinds ;  rich  foods  with  much  sugar  or  fat  in  them ; 
meat  more  than  once  a  day. 

THINGS  TO  THINK  ABOUT 

1.  Why  do  some  doctors  say  that  we  cannot  have  good 
digestion  without  good  teeth? 

2.  What  happens  to  our  food  before  it  is  ready  to  make 
our  bodies  warm  and  help  us  to  grow? 

3.  Why  is  it  one  of  our  health  rules,  to  have  a  bowel 
movement  every  day? 

4.  You  want  to  have  good  digestion.    What  six  food 
and  eating  rules  can  you  follow  to  have  it? 

5.  Pretend  that  you  have  a  family  of  boys  and  girls 
to  feed.    Make  a  market-list  of  foods  you  would  buy,  to 
keep  them  well  and  strong.   What  things  would  you  not 
let  them  have? 


CHAPTER  VI 

STOKING  THE  ENGINE 

"I  USED  to  say/7  said  Paul,  looking  up  from  his 
toy  train  of  cars,  "that  I'd  be  a  policeman  when  I 
grew  up,  but  I  think  I'd  rather  be  an  engineer.  I 
wish  I  had  a  real  steam-engine.'7 

"Engines  cost  a  good  deal  to  begin  with,"  said 
Father,  "and  it  costs  a  lot  more  to  keep  them  fed  and 
in  running  order.  It's  about  all  I  can  do  to  provide 
coal  and  wood  for  the  four  engines  we  already  have 
in  this  house." 

"Four  engines!"  exclaimed  Ruth.  "O,  Daddy, 
you're  fooling  again.  What  do  you  mean?" 

i '  I  mean  just  what  I  say, ' '  said  Father.  ' '  You  and 
Paul,  Mother  and  I  are  all  engineers  and  live  in  our 
engines — only  they  are  flesh  and  blood  and  bone,  in- 
stead of  iron  and  steel." 

"And  we  don't  eat  coal  and  wood,"  added  Ruth. 

"No,"  admitted  Father,  "but  our  bodies  are  really 
very  much  like  engines,  for  all  that.  The  engine  can't 
move  unless  there  is  water  in  the  boiler,  a  fire  in  the 
furnace  and  unless  all  the  parts  are  well-oiled  and  in 
good  repair.  In  the  same  way,  our  bodies  can't  keep 
warm  and  we  can't  run  and  play  and  work,  unless  we 
have  plenty  of  water,  plenty  of  good  food,  and  unless 
our  bodies  are  in  good  order." 

"You  promised  last  Sunday  to  tell  us  more  about 
different  kinds  of  food,  Daddy,"  said  Paul. 

52 


STOKING  THE  ENGINE 


53 


"So  I  did.  Well,  you  know  that  there  are  a  good 
many  things  that  you  can  burn  in  a  fire,  but  some 
things  burn  better  than  others,  don't  they?" 

"Oh,  yes,"  said  Paul.  " Paper  and  wood  and  coal 
burn  best." 

"Andoil,"putinButh. 

' '  Yes, ' '  said  Father, ' '  all  these  things  help  to  make 
a  good  fire.  Now,  to  keep  up  the  fire  that  warms  your 
body  and  makes  it  strong  enough  to  work  and  play, 
you  need  cereals,  sugar,  potatoes  and  every  sort  of 
food  that  has  starch  in  it.  Then,  too,  you  need  the 
oils,  such  as  butter,  or  oleomargarine,  olive  oil  and 
fat  meat.  But  there  is  one  great  difference  between 
the  iron  engine  and  our  live,  flesh  and  blood  ones— 
the  iron  engine  never  gets  any 
bigger  and  can't  repair  itself,  but 
our  engines  do. ' ' 

"What  kinds  of  food  help  us 
to  grow  ? ' '  asked  Ruth. 

"Milk,  cheese,  eggs,  fish,  meat, 
peas,  beans  and  peanuts,"  said 
Father.  "You  see  now  why  we 
need  to  eat  different  sorts  of 
things.  Here  is  a  snap-shot  that 
I  took  of  a  little  Italian  boy  yes- 
terday  over  near  Putnam's 
woods,  where  some  Italians  are  camping.  He  had  a 
bread-and-cheese  sandwich  in  one  hand  and  a  raw 
tomato  in  the  other." 

"I  don't  call  that  a  very  nice  luncheon,"  sniffed 
Paul. 


54  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

"It's  much  nicer  than  the  pickles  and  ice  cream- 
cones  that  some  children  lunch  on,"  said  Father. 
"The  bread  will  feed  his  fire  and  keep  little  Tony 
warm.  The  cheese  will  help  to  build  up  his  muscles 
and  bones  and  make  him  grow,  and  the  raw  tomato 
is  excellent  for  'oiling  his  machinery'  and  keeping 
him  in  good  health.  Uncooked  vegetables  and  fruit 
and  raw  milk  contain  different  kinds  of  salt  that  we 
seem  to  need  to  keep  well." 

" Dorothy's  little  sister  got  typhoid  fever  from 
uncooked  milk,"  said  Ruth. 

"Very  likely,"  Father  replied.  "It's  very  im- 
portant that  all  food,  especially  milk,  should  be  per- 
fectly clean.  Do  you  remember  that  time  last  winter 
when  our  furnace  didn't  work  right?" 

"Oh,  yes,"  cried  Paul,  "I  went  down  cellar  with 
you  and  you  found  a  lot  of  stuff:  in  the  coal  and  yon 
scolded  the  man  for  sending  us  bad  coal." 

"Yes,"  said  Father,  "instead  of  good,  pure  coal, 
he  had  sent  coal  that  had  pieces  of  slate  all  mixed 
through  it.  Of  course,  it  did  not  make  a  good  fire. 
Now  just  the  same  thing  happens  when  we  put  food 
that  isn't  pure  into  the  furnace  in  our  bodies.  Our 
engine-fire  doesn't  burn  well,  and  we  say  that  we 
are  sick." 

"People  oughtn't  to  be  allowed  to  sell  bad  food," 
said  Ruth,  decidedly. 

"No,  indeed, "  agreed  Father,  "and  most  cities  and 
states  have  men  to  examine  the  milk,  meat,  fruit,  vege- 
tables, fish,  canned  goods — everything  we  eat — to 
make  sure  that  it  is  pure  and  clean.  Every  year  these 


STOKING  THE  ENGINE 


55 


inspectors  order  millions  of  pounds  of  food  to  be 
thrown  away." 

"  And  do  they  punish  the  men  who  tried  to  sell  the 
bad  food?"  asked  Paul. 

"Yes,  everyone  who  breaks  the  'Pure  Food7  Law 
is  fined  or  put  into  prison.  Years  and  years  ago,  a 
man  who  watered  his  milk  was  punished  by  having  the 
milk  poured  through  a  funnel  into  his  mouth  until 
he  cried  for  mercy. 
A  man  who  sold  bad 
butter  had  the  butter 
mashed  down  over 
his  head  and  had  to 
stand  in  the  sun  until 
the  butter  melted." 

"Goodness!  "said 
Ruth,  "I  should 
think  that  would 
cure  anyone  of 
anything!" 

"In  Italy," 
Father  went  on, 


. . 


you    can    be    per- 
fectly sure  of  having 
un  watered  milk. 
Here  is  a  Naples  milkman.    He  drives  the  goat  right 
to  your  door  and  milks  her  into  your  pitcher." 

"Are  milk  and  butter  the  only  things  to  eat  that 
are  likely  to  be  bad?"  asked  Paul. 

"I'm  sorry  to  say  that  they  aren't,"  said  Father. 
"Many  people  are  so  silly  as  to  think  pretty  food  must 


56 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


be  good  food.  So  candy,  canned  vegetables,  tomato 
catsup  and  pickles — like  the  pink  lemonade  at  the 
circus — sometimes  have  dye  put  into  them  to  make 
them  a  bright  color.  It's  wise  to  buy  food  from  some- 
one who  keeps  only  pure  food,  The  best  way  of  all 
is  to  eat  very  little  ready-cooked  stuff  and  do  all  your 
own  cooking,  so  far  as  you  can." 

"In  history  class,"  said  Ruth,  "Miss  Scott  told  us 
that  our  great-great-great-grandmothers  used  to  do 
all  their  own  cooking." 


"Yes,  indeed,"  said  Father.  "Here  is  a  picture 
of  an  old  New  England  fireplace.  They  didn't  have 
stoves  like  ours  in  those  days.  See,  there  is  a  big  hook 
to  hold  the  kettle  over  the  fire  and  here  at  the  side  is 
the  great,  old-fashioned  oven,  big  enough  to  bake  a 
dozen  pies  at  once." 

"I  wish  we  had  pie  oftener,"  sighed  Paul.  "I 
think  I'd  have  liked  to  live  in  the  house  with 
that  oven." 

Father  laughed.    "You  would  have  had  to  work 


STOKING  THE  ENGINE  57 

for  your  pie,  Son.  Those  old-fashioned  houses  were 
busy  places.  They  made  their  own  butter  and  cheese, 
raised  their  own  vegetables  and  preserved  or  dried 
them  for  the  winter.  They  raised  their  wheat,  rye, 
oats  and  buckwheat  and  carried  them  to  the  mill  to 
be  ground  into  flour.  I'm  afraid  they  ate  a  good  deal 
of  pie  and  pickles  and  fried  things  that  are  hard  to 
digest,  but  they  worked  hard  outdoors  all  day,  and 
that  made  their  stomachs  stronger  than  ours." 

"Why  aren't  fried  things  and  pickles  good  for 
you?"  asked  Paul. 

"Because,"  said  Father,  "grease  makes  a  hard 
crust  all  over  the  food,  and  so  the  stomach  has  more 
trouble  to  soften  it  and  get  it  ready  to  go  into  the 
blood.  And  all  the  vinegary  things  are  bad  because 
vinegar  makes  food  tough  and  hard  to  digest." 

"A  little  Syrian  girl  has  just  come  to  school,"  said 
Ruth.  "Yesterday,  she  gave  me  a  piece  of  Syrian 
candy,  but  it  tasted  horrid.  I  had  to  spit  it  out." 

"I  hope,"  said  Father,  "that  you  didn't  hurt  her 
feelings,  when  she  had  been  so  kind  in  sharing  her 
candy.  And  you  know,  Euth,  we  eat  things  that  the 
Syrians  think  ' horrid' — oysters,  for  instance.  It  all 
depends  on  what  you  are  used  to." 

"I  think,"  said  Ruth,  "that  I'd  like  to  be  a  cook. 
It's  such  fun  to  mess  around  in  the  kitchen." 

"I'm  glad  to  hear  you  say  that,  Ruthie,"  said 
Father,  patting  her  on  the  back.  "Really  good  cooks 
are  the  best  of  citizens,  for  they  help  to  keep  the  rest 
of  us  in  good  health.  But  you  must  not  be  like  an 


58 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


old  colored  cook  I  once  knew.  Maria  made  the  most 
delicious  biscuit  and  griddle-cakes,  but  once  I  went 
into  her  kitchen  and  I  never  ate  her  cakes  again." 

"  Why  ?"  asked  Paul. 

"  Because  she  mixed  the  cakes  in  a  greasy,  dirty 
dishpan.  She  never  washed  her  hands  or  cleaned  her 
pans  or  her  ice-box.  The  floor  was  a  sight,  and  the  cat 
was  drinking  out  of  the  milk-pitcher.  And  yet,  she 
cooked  for  a  respectable  family." 

'  *  That 's  worse  than  an  Indian  family  I  once  saw, ' ' 
said  Mother,  who  had  just  come  in.  "They  were  sit- 


ting in  a  circle  on  the  ground  with  a  bowl  of  meat  in 
the  middle  and  everyone  'put  in  his  thumb  and  pulled 
out  a  plum,7  like  Jack  Horner.  But  the  dish  realty 
looked  clean  and  the  Mother  made  the  children  wash 
their  hands  before  they  ate." 

"That's  more  than  all  white  children  do,"  re- 
marked Father.  "Here's  a  picture  of  how  two  boys 
I  know  sit  at  table.  This  boy  eats  like  a  little  dog, 
with  his  head  almost  in  his  plate.  His  elbows  stick 
out  so  that  they  poke  into  his  neighbors'  ribs."  Paul 
looked  very  uneasy,  but  Father  went  on.  "This 
other  boy  must  be  you,  Paul.  See  how  straight  he 


STOKING  THE  ENGINE 


59 


60  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

sits,  and  I'm  sure  he  chews  quietly  and  doesn't  poke 
his  neighbors." 

Paul  was  smiling  again.  "I  think/'  said  Mother, 
* '  that  you  have  talked  long  enough  about  your  engines 
and  how  to  feed  them.  Suppose  you  go  out  and  give 
them  a  good  run  before  supper-time." 

THINGS  TO  DO 

Since  we  are  going  to  find  out  something  about  our 
engine's  fuel,  let  us  make  a  food-book.  Make  a  scrap 
book  first.  On  the  outside  paste  a  picture  of  the  healthiest 
boy  or  girl  you  can  find.  Magazines  contain  fine  pictures. 
In  it  we  will  put  pictures  of  the  foods  we  learn  about,  and 
stories  about  the  experiments  we  may  make,  in  studying 
about  our  body's  fuels. 

First,  let  us  find  out  something  about  starch,  because 
it  is  one  of  our  best  fuels.  Get  together  a  potato,  u  knife, 
a  glass  of  water,  and  a  piece  of  clean  thin  white-goods, 
Now  we  will  "make"  starch.  Peel  the  potato.  Now 
scrape  it  very  fine  and  tie  up  the  scrapings  in  the  cloth. 
Now  squeeze  the  cloth  in  the  water,  till  the  water  gets 
milky-white.  Let  this  milky  water  stand  until  the  next 
day.  What  you  then  see  at  the  bottom  of  the  glass  is 
starch.  Pour  off  the  water  carefully,  and  let  the  starch 
dry.  Does  it  look  like  the  corn-starch  mother  uses  ?  Put 
some  of  your  starch  in  the  glass  again,  add  a  little  water 
and  a  few  drops  of  iodine,  which  your  teacher  will  give 
you.  Only  things  that  contain  starch  turn  this  color  when 
iodine  is  added.  Bring  samples  of  other  foods  to  school 
to  test.  Make  lists  of  the  foods  that  are  fuels  for  our 
body  engines,  because  they  contain  starch.  Put  the  story 
of  your  experiment,  and  the  food  lists  in  your  food-book. 

Try  to  find  how  corn-starch  is  made  in  the  factories. 

Find  out  what  foods  have  fat  or  oil  in  them,  for  they, 
too,  are  fuels  for  our  engine.  Mash  the  food  on  a  piece 


STOKING  THE  ENGINE  61 

of  thin  smooth  paper  and  after  it  is  dry  look  for  a  grease 
spot.  Try  some  nuts,  some  fruit,  some  milk,  and  any 
other  common  foods  you  want  to  test.  Put  your  results 
in  your  food-book. 

Try  to  find  out  where  the  fats  and  oils  we  use  come 
from. 

If  your  teacher  can  arrange  to  take  you  to  a  sanitary 
dairy,  go  with  her  and  see  how  much  trouble  is  taken  to 
get  good  milk,  to  keep  it  clean,  and  to  deliver  it  to  cus- 
tomers in  safe  condition.  How  is  the  milk  cared  for  at 
your  house,  to  keep  it  sweet  and  safe? 

With  your  mother,  go  to  the  grocer's,  to  the  butcher's, 
to  the  baker's.  Without  saying  anything,  look  around 
and  notice  everything  that  is  done  to  protect  the  food 
for  sale  from  dust  or  dirty  fingers.  Could  you  suggest 
any  more  care  to  take  ? 

Add  to  your  food-book  pictures  of  the  new  fuel  foods 
you  have  learned ;  the  new  growth-making  foods ;  the  new 
protection  foods  you  have  learned. 

THINGS   TO  REMEMBER 

Our  bodies  are  engines  which,  like  steam-engines, 
need  fuel  and  water.  The  fuel  of  our  bodies  is  food.  The 
foods  that  give  the  most  fuel  are  fats,  starchy  foods,  and 
foods  containing  sugar.  The  chief  starchy  foods  are 
cereals,  such  as  oats,  wheat,  rice,  corn,  rye,  barley  (includ- 
ing things  made  from  them),  potatoes,  peas  and  beans. 
Fruits  and  many  vegetables  contain  sugar.  Besides  the 
fat  in  butter,  milk  and  cheese,  wholesome  fats  are  found 
in  bacon,  some  meats,  and  nuts. 

Some  foods  build  bones  and  muscles.  The  best  are 
milk,  cottage  cheese,  eggs,  fish,  and  meats.  Peas,  beans, 
and  oats  are  also  in  this  class.  Still  other  foods  are 
called  protection  foods.  They  contain  things  that  keep 
the  parts  of  the  body  working  well.  These  foods  are  milk, 


62  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

fruits,  and  vegetables.  Milk,  fruits,  and  vegetables  are  so 
important  that  they  should  be  eaten  at  least  once  every 
day.  A  child  should  have  at  least  a  pint  of  milk  a  day. 

Our  bodies,  unlike  engines,  can  grow  and  repair  them- 
selves. Foods  enable  them  to  do  this.  But  foods  must 
be  pure.  This  means  they  must  be  clean  when  brought  to 
the  stores ;  that  the  stores  must  be  clean  and  handle  foods 
in  a  clean  way,  protecting  them  from  dust,  flies,  and  dirty 
hands.  All  this  is  to  prevent  germs  from  growing  in 
food  and  spoiling  it.  Foods  must  contain  no  harmful 
coloring  matter,  as  cheap  candies  sometimes  do.  Food 
must  contain  no  material  without  food  value,  or  injuri- 
ous substances  to  prevent  it  from  spoiling.  Pure  food 
laws  are  made  by  our  government  to  protect  us  from 
these  things. 

The  best  foods  can  be  spoiled  by  bad  cooking,  wrong 
habits  of  eating,  and  careless  ways  of  keeping  food  at 
home.  Here  are  some  good  rules  to  help  us  get  the  great- 
est benefit  from  good  food. 

1.  Prepare  food  for  keeping,  and  put  it  in  a  cool  place, 
covered  from  the  air. 

2.  Be  sure  to  wash  your  hands,  before  preparing  food 
for  others,  or  eating  it. 

3.  Eat  every  day  something  from  each  of  these  groups. 

a.  Milk. 

b.  Cereals,  including  bread. 

c.  Butter. 

d.  Fruits  and  vegetables. 

e.  Meat,  fish,  eggs,  cheese. 

4.  Don't  eat  fried  food,  pickles,  tea,  coffee. 

5.  Eat  pure,  simple  sweets,  at  the  end  of  your  meal, 
not  between  meals. 

6.  Eat  with  the  best  manners  you  know.    Your  food 
digests  better  if  you  eat  slowly.    Chew  well,  sit  straight, 
and  season  it  with  smiles. 


STOKING  THE  ENGINE  63 

THINGS  TO  THINK  ABOUT 

1.  Why  did  we  send  candy  and  sweets  to  the  soldiers 
during  the  war? 

2.  Why  did  some  of  the  posters  say:  "Fats  are  fuels 
for  fighters ' '  ? 

3.  What  foods  will  make  our  bodies  grow?     Repair 
themselves  ? 

4.  From  what  five  groups  of  foods  must  we  choose 
something  to  eat,  every  day?    Do  you  know  why? 

5.  What  are  pure  foods?     Why  are  pure  food  laws 
needed?    Do  you  know  if  your  city  has  to  destroy  foods 
not  fit  to  eat?    Why? 

6.  Why  do  you  suppose  babies  can  live  for  nearly  a 
year  on  milk  only,  with  perhaps  some  orange  juice? 

7.  What  should  grocers  do  to  keep  pure  the  foods  they 
sell?    What  should  we  do  at  home  to  prevent  foods  we 
buy  from  spoiling  before  we  have  eaten  them  ? 

8.  Are  table-manners  only  for  show?     What  health 
reasons  can  be  given  for  eating  in  a  mannerly  way? 


CHAPTER  VII 
How  WE  AKE  WRAPPED  UP 

THE  very  nicest  way  to  celebrate  the  Fourth  of 
July  is  to  go  on  a  picnic.  That  was  what  all  the 
Weston  family  decided.  Father  said  he  knew  just 
the  right  place,  and  sure  enough,  after  a  short  car- 
ride  and  a  still  shorter  walk,  he  had  brought  them  to 
a  lovely,  little,  mossy  brook. 

Paul  and  Ruth  had  been  so  excited  over  going 
on  a  picnic  that  they  had  not  eaten  much  breakfast. 
The  result  was  that  after  luncheon  all  that  was  left 
was  one  orange  and  a  lot  of  tissue  paper.  Paul  was 
vainly  trying  to  feed  the  paper  to  Pussy,  who  always 
went  to  family  picnics,  just  like  a  little,  furry  dog. 
"Oh,  dear,"  he  cried,  "if  Pussy  were  only  a  goat! 
Why  did  you  wrap  up  all  the  sandwiches  and 
cookies,  Mother?" 

"To  keep  them  from  getting  dried  and  dusty." 

"But -you  didn't  wrap  up  the  oranges  or  eggs." 

"No,  because  Mother  Mature  had  wrapped  them 
already.  She  is  the  most  skilful  wrapper  in  the  world. 
She  does  up  the  trees  and  plants  and  fruits  and  ani- 
mals and  people,  each  in  a  sheet  of  her  very  finest 
wrapping-paper. ' ' 

"What  do  you  mean,  Mother?"  said  Ruth.  "I 
never  saw  any  paper  that  Nature  had  made,  and  I'm 
not  wrapped  up,  except  in  my  clothes. ' ' 

Mother  picked  up  Ruth's  stocking,  for  she  and 

64 


HOW  WE  ARE  WRAPPED  UP 


Paul  had  been  wading  in  the  brook.  She  turned  it 
inside  out.  It  was  sprinkled  with  little,  white  flakes. 
4 i There,  Ruth,"  she  said,  " there's  part  of  your  wrap- 
ping that  has  worn  off." 

"Oh,"  said  Paul,  " that's  just  wee  pieces  of  skin." 

"Yes,"  replied  Mother,  "the  kind  that  Nature 
wraps  around  people  and  animals,  we  call  'skin.' 
Miss  Orange  calls  hers  her  'peel'  or  'rind,'  and  Mr. 
Birch  Tree,  over  there,  calls  his  his  'bark.'  But 
though  the  tree  and  the  orange  and  I  all  have  different 
kinds  of  skin,  they  are  a  good  deal  alike." 

Ruth  had  been  peel- 
ing the  orange.  She  held 
up  a  piece  of  the  skin. 
"But  my  skin  isn't  a  bit 
like  that,"  she  protested. 

"Isn't  it?"  said 
Mother.  "Let's  see.  Here, 
on  the  inside  of  the  orange 
peel  is  a  thick  layer  of 
yellowish  white,  and  out- 
side that  is  a  thin  layer  of 
bright  yellow.  If  you  look  closely,  you  can  see  tiny 
holes  all  over  it.  If  you  squeeze  it,  some  oil  comes  out. 
Let's  look  at  the  cut  edge  of  the  orange  skin.  Do 
you  see  the  pockets,  or  holes,  where  the  oil  lies,  close 
under  the  outer  skin'?" 

"Well,  it  doesn't  look  a  bit  like  my  skin,"  in- 
sisted Ruth. 

"That  is  because  it  is  so  much  coarser,  and  because 
you  never  see  anything  but  the  outer  side  of  your  skin, 

5 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


HAIR- 


SWEAT  ?OR 


EPIDERMIS 


SwtAT'QtANDS 

HAI*.  BULB- 


Ruthie,"  said  her  Father.  He  sketched  for  a  mo- 
ment. ' '  There,  children, ' '  he  said, ' '  is  how  your  skin 
would  look  if  it  were  ever  so  much  heavier  and  coarser 

and  if  you  could  peel 
off  a  piece  and  look  at 
the  cut  edge  of  it,  as  you 
did  with  the  orange." 
"Why,  "said  Ruth, 
"it  is  something  like 
the  orange  skin." 

"Yes,7 'said  Father, 
"here  is  the  thin,  out- 
side, colored  skin.  It 
has  no  blood  in  it  and 
feels  no  pain.  You  can  run  a  fine  needle  through  it 
and  take  a  stitch  without  hurting.  This  outside  layer 
of  the  skin  keeps  dirt  and  germs  out.  That  is  why, 
when  you  cut  or  in  any  way  break  the  skin,  Mother 
washes  and  ties  the  place  up  so  carefully,  until  the 
skin  can  heal.  If  dirt  gets  into  a  cut,  it  often  makes 
a  bad  sore — sometimes  it  is  very  dangerous. ' ' 

"Do  we  have  oil  in  our  skins,  Daddy,  like  the 
orange!"  asked  Paul. 

6  '  Yes,  way  down  in  the  skin.  If  you  hold  the  back 
of  your  hand  between  you  and  the  light,  you'll  see 
that  it  is  covered  with  tiny  hairs.  Each  of  these  has 
two  oil-bags.  You  can  see  one  of  them  in  the  picture, 
on  the  root  of  a  hair.  The  oil  feeds  the  hair  and 
keeps  the  skin  smooth  and  soft." 

"Yes,"  said  Ruth,  "my  hair  gets  awfully  greasy, 
sometimes,  and  often  my  nose  is  all  shiny." 


HOW  WE  ARE  WRAPPED  UP 


67 


"But  what  are  those  curled-up  balls  with  cork- 
screwy  things  coming  out  of  them?"  asked  Paul. 

"Those,"  Father  replied,  "are  where  the  perspi- 
ration comes  from.  There  are 
about  two  and  a  half  millions  of 
them  in  your  body.  If  you  could 
put  the  tubes  all  along,  end  to 
end,  they  would  make  a  pipe 
twenty-eight  miles  long.  On  a 
hot  day,  the  perspiration-bags 
or  glands  work  hard  pouring  out 
the  perspiration  to  bathe  us  and 
make  us  cooler.  It  comes  out 
through  tiny  holes  in  the  skin.  Under  the  magni- 
fying glass,  you  can  see  them  in  rows,  like  this." 

"Well,"  Paul  remarked,  "if  the  perspiration 
bathes  us,  why  do  we  have  to  keep  taking  baths  all 
the  time?" 

Mother  laughed.  "Paul  has  so  much  important 
business  to  see  to  that  he  hates  to  waste  time  on  use- 
less matters, ' '  she  said.  '  *  Listen,  Paul.  Did  you  ever 
see  me  empty  a  pan  of  greasy  dish-water  into  the 
kitchen  sink?" 

"Why,  yes,"  said  Paul,  wondering. 

"And  then  what  did  I  do?" 

"You  washed  out  the  sink  with  clean  soap  and 
water." 

"Yes,"  said  his  Mother,  "and  that  is  just  what 
happens  to  your  skin.  The  two  and  a  half  million 
little  sweat-glands  collect  dirty  waste  matter  from 
your  body  and  pour  it  out  in  the  perspiration  all  over 


68  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

your  skin.  Then  the  water  in  it  evaporates,  but  the 
dirty,  poisonous  stuff  stays  and  mixes  with  the  oil 
and  the  loose  bits  of  skin,  and  forms  a  dirty  film  all 
over  your  body.  That's  why  we  need  a  good  all-over 
warm  bath  about  every  other  day." 

' '  I  see  how  it  cools  us  in  summer, ' '  said  Ruth, ' '  but 
has  the  skin  any  way  of  warming  us  in  winter?" 

"Yes;  if  you  are  sitting  by  the  window  and  begin 
to  feel  cold,  what  do  you  do?" 
"I  shut  the  window,"  said  Paul. 

6 '  Just  what  your  skin  does. 
All  these  little  holes,  or 
'pores,'  as  they  are  called,  are 
like  millions  of  tiny  windows, 
through  which  the  body 
partly  breathes.  If  we  are  in 
the  cold  air,  the  skin  closes 
its  windows,  to  keep  the  heat 
S  /  /  in.  It  also  squeezes  up  the 

BLOODVESSELS  ^  .  \         -. 

oKCAFiLLAMts  tiny  blood-vessels  which  lie 

close  under  the  skin,  like  this.  That  keeps  the  blood 
from  coming  too  near  the  outside  and  getting  cold. 
But  on  a  hot  day,  or  when  you  take  a  warm  bath,  the 
skin-windows  open  and  the  little  blood-vessels  are 
full,  close  under  the  skin." 

"Why  is  it,  Mother,  that  you  won't  let  us  take 
our  baths  right  after  meals?"  asked  Ruth. 

"Because  just  after  meals,  the  stomach  calls  out, 
'  Come  along,  Blood,  I  need  you. '  Then  the  blood  hur- 
ries to  the  stomach.  But  if  you  step  into  a  tub  of  hot 
water,  the  blood  is  called  to  the  skin.  If  you  step  into 


HOW  WE  ARE  WRAPPED  UP  69 

a  cold  bath,  the  blood  rushes  away  from  the  skin  and 
then  when  you  get  out,  rushes  back  to  it  again, 
harder  than  ever.  In  either  case  it  doesn't  stay 
near  the  stomach  where  it  is  needed  to  help  digest 
your  dinner. " 

"I  never  knew  before,"  said  Paul,  "that  my  skin 
had  so  much  to  do.  What  else  does  it  do,  Daddy  ? ' ' 

"Well,"  said  Father,  "besides  being  a  suit  of 
armor  to  keep  out  germs  and  dirt  and  other  enemies, 
and  besides  being  fitted  with  windows  and  water  to 
make  you  hot  or  cold,  and  besides  acting  like  the 
kitchen  sink  to  carry  away  a  lot  of  dirty  waste  matter, 
the  skin  is  an  Information  Bureau." 

"What's  that?"  asked  Paul. 

"I  know,"  said  Ruth.  "It's  a  place  where  they 
tell  you  anything  you  want  to  know." 

"Yes,  the  skin  tells  whether  things  are  hot  or  cold. 
If  it  didn't,  we  might  get  burnt  or  frozen.  It  warns 
us  that  pins  are  sharp  and  nutmeg-graters  rough.  We 
don't  learn  as  much  as  we  might  from  our  sense  of 
touch.  Here  is  a  picture  of  a  lady  named  Helen 
Keller. ' '  Father  drew  from  his  pocket  a  photograph. 
"When  she  was  a  great  deal  smaller  than  Paul,  she 
became  blind  and  deaf  and  dumb,  but  she  listened 
to  everything  that  her  skin  said  to  her  through  her 
finger-tips,  she  learned  the  deaf-and-dumb  alphabet, 
and  became  a  very  wise  and  useful  woman." 

Ruth  was  silent  for  a  moment  trying  to  think  what 
it  would  be  like  to  have  to  learn  everything  through 
her  fingers.  At  last,  she  said,  "Now  that  I  know  what 


70  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


HOW  WE  ARE  WRAPPED  UP  71 

a  lot  my  skin  does  for  me,  I'm  going  to  do  more  for  it. 
Should  I  take  a  hot  bath  every  day,  Daddy?7' 

"No,  not  unless  you  have  been  perspiring  a  good 
deal,  or  getting  extra  dirty.  Take  a  warm,  soapy  bath 
about  every  other  day,  winding  up  with  a  splash  in 
cold  water,  to  close  the  skin-windows.  Then  every 
morning  take  a  cool  dip,  shower,  or  sponge  bath,  just 
to  keep  your  skin  working  well,  and  rub  yourself  until 
the  skin  is  red.  Be  sure  to  have  the  bathroom  warm, 
and  if  you  feel  chilly,  rub  and  exercise  until  you  are 
warm.  The  more  air,  water  and  sunshine  you  give 
your  skin  the  better.'7 

Ruth  looked  thoughtfully  at  the  bit  of  orange- 
peel.  "Isn't  it  funny,77  she  said,  "that  this  orange 
and  that  birch-tree,  and  Pussy  and  I  are  all  wrapped 
up  so  beautifully.  Mother  Nature  must  think  we  are 
pretty  valuable  to  take  such  care  of  us,  mustn7t  she  ?77 

THINGS  TO  DO 

Euth  examined  an  orange  skin.  Suppose  you  do  so. 
Cut  a -section  through  the  thick  rind  of  an  orange  or  a 
lemon.  Look  at  the  edge  and  see  if  you  can  see  what 
Ruth  saw. 

Examine  the  skin  on  the  back  of  your  hand.  A  lens 
will  help  if  you  can  get  it.  Find  the  hairs.  In  the  palms 
of  your  hands,  find  the  rows  of  tiny  openings  of  the  sweat 
glands.  Notice  how  elastic  and  soft,  yet  tough,  skin  is. 
Now  look  at  the  picture  in  the  book,  and  find  out  how  the 
skin  is  on  the  inside. 

Make  this  little  experiment  to  see  why  baths  are  neces- 
sary. Get  a  piece  of  window  glass.  Polish,  up  one  part 
of  it.  Rub  a  little  oil  on  the  next  part.  Stir  up  a  teaspoon- 
£ul  of  salt  in  half  a  cup  of  water,  and  when  it  is.  dissolved. 


72  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

put  half  a  teaspoonful  of  the  salt-water  on  the  third  part 
of  your  glass.  Let  the  glass  lie  by  an  open  window  till 
the  next  day.  Which  part  of  the  glass  is  cleanest!  Do 
you  see  why  our  faces  gather  so  much  dirt?  Why  bodies 
and  clothes  sometimes  have  bad  odors,  if  not  washed 
often  enough? 

Try  this,  to  find  out  how  the  skin  helps  cool  off  the 
body.  Drop  some  water  on  the  stove  or  hot  radiator. 
What  becomes  of  the  water  1  What  drove  the  water  away  ? 
If  you  can  get  a  thermometer,  first  read  it,  as  it  hangs  in 
the  room.  Then  dip  it  in  water  and  wave  it  dry.  Read 
it  again.  Why  do  you  think  the  temperature  shown 
is  lower  than  it  was  when  the  thermometer  was  dry? 
What  becomes  of  the  water  on  the  thermometer?  Where 
did  the  heat  come  from,  to  evaporate  the  water? 

Dip  your  hand  in  water,  and  wave  it  dry.  Does  your 
hand  feel  cooler  ?  What  has  become  of  the  heat  that  was 
in  your  hand  before?  This  is  why  perspiration  cools  us 
in  summer. 

Watch  your  skin  when  you  take  your  warm  bath. 
Before  the  bath,  notice  the  color  of  your  skin.  Invert  a 
cold  dry  water-glass  tightly  over  your  skin,  to  see  if  much 
water  is  given  off,  as  a  film  inside  the  glass.  After  your 
bath,  see  if  the  color  of  the  skin  is  the  same.  See  if  more 
or  less  water  is  given  off.  This  shows  how  a  warm  bath 
calls  the  blood  to  the  skin.  Does  it  tell  us  anything  about 
the  proper  times  to  bathe? 

THINGS   TO   REMEMBER 

1.  Skin  helps  us  in  three  ways.  It  prevents  harmful 
things  from  entering  the  body.  It  helps  keep  us  from 
getting  too  warm  or  too  cold.  It  tells  us  about  our  sur- 
roundings, through  our  sense  of  touch. 

Skin  has  an  outside  layer,  with  no  blood-vessels  or 
nerves.  It  keeps  germs  out  of  the  body. 

Skin  contains  hairs.    These  have  two  oil  glands  each, 


HOW  WE  ARE  WRAPPED  UP  73 

which  make  the  oil  which  keeps  the  skin  and  hair  soft 
and  pliable.  These  hairs  grow  from  the  deep,  live  layers 
of  the  skin.  In  these  deeper  layers  are  nerves  and  blood, 
to  feed  the  skin. 

Skin  contains  sweat  glands.  These  gather  much  water 
and  some  waste  from  the  blood  and  pour  it  out  on  the 
surface  of  our  skin  as  perspiration.  When  the  perspira- 
tion dries  or  evaporates,  it  takes  heat  away  from  the 
body  and  we  are  cooler.  Baths  are  necessary  to  wash 
away  that  part  of  perspiration  that  does  not  evaporate. 

When  we  take  baths,  hot  or  cold,  or  when  we  exercise, 
the  blood  goes  to  the  skin.  For  this  reason  we  should 
not  do  these  things  when  any  other  part  of  the  body  needs 
the  blood.  Neither  heavy  exercises,  nor  baths,  should 
be  taken  just  after  or  before  a  meal.  This  includes  swim- 
ming. To  take  the  best  care  of  the  skin,  one  should  bathe 
it  for  cleanliness,  with  warm  water  and  good  soap,  about 
every  other  day.  Then  take  a  cold  splash,  and  rub  the 
skin  hard  with  a  rough  dry  towel.  The  best  time  for  'the 
warm,  bath  is  just  before  bed.  Take  a  cool  sponge  every 
morning,  lasting  not  more  than  three  minutes.  Eub  your 
skin  till  it  is  warm  and  red.  This  will  exercise  your  skin 
and  help  avoid  colds. 

The  only  sure  ways  to  have  a  beautiful  skin  are  these : 
eat  good  food,  digest  it  well,  get  rid  of  the  wastes  and 
keep  the  skin  clean. 

THINGS  TO  THINK  ABOUT 

1.  Why  is  a  nurse  so  careful  to  clean  out  cuts  and 
scratches  before  tying  them  up? 

2.  How  does  the  skin  protect  us  from  germs  ? 

3.  What  do  you  know  about  how  skin  is  made? 

4.  Why  do  we  need  to  take  baths?     To  change  our 
underclothing? 

5.  Have  you  noticed  an  unpleasant  odor  sometimes 


74  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

in  a  schoolroom  full  of  girls  and  boys !    What  may  cause 
it  1    What  can  we  all  do  to  prevent  such  odors  1 

6.  How  does  perspiring  in  summer  help  us  keep  cool  1 

7.  How  do  we  take  cleansing  baths  to  get  the  best 
results  ?    What  is  the  best  time  to  take  warm  baths  ? 

8.  Have  you  tried  a  cold  sponge  bath  in  the  morning? 
How  does  it  make  you  feel?   Why  are  cold  baths  in  the 
morning  good  for  us  1 

9.  What  did  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans  think 
about  baths  ?    Were  the  Greeks  good  athletes  1 

10.  Find  out  how  the  Indians  took  baths. 

11.  Can  you  give  a  recipe  for  a  beautiful  skin? 


CHAPTER  VIII 
THE  CLOTHES  WE  WEAR 

" MOTHER/'  said  Ruth,  "do  you  know,  to-morrow 
is  Rover's  birthday?  He'll  be  two  years  old.  What 
shall  we  give  him,  to  celebrate  ?" 

' '  Let 's  make  him  a  birthday-cake, ' '  said  Paul — ' '  a 
chocolate  one,  big  enough  for  him  to  give  us  each 
a  piece." 

"Let's  buy  him  a  new  collar,"  suggested  Ruth,  "a 
shiny  red  leather  one." 

' '  Huh ! ' '  sniffed  Paul.  ' '  Rover 's  no  lady-dog--he 
doesn't  care  about  silly  clothes!" 

"Clothes  aren't  silly,  are  they,  Mother?"  cried 
Ruth. 

"That  all  depends,"  said  Mrs.  Weston,  "on  the 
people  who  wear  them.  Some  silly  people  wear  very 
silly  clothes,  but  some  sensible  people  wear  clothes 
that  are  sensible  and  beautiful." 

"I  should  say,"  put  in  Father,  "that  Rover  was 
sensible,  for  his  clothes  suit  him  perfectly." 

"Yes,  I  can  never  find  a  suit  for  Paul  that  is  as 
nice  as  Rover's,"  said  Mother.  "ISTo  tailor  or  dress- 
maker ever  makes  such  sensible  and  beautiful  clothes 
as  Mother  Nature  does." 

"What  do  you  mean,  Mother?"  asked  Ruth. 

"Well,"  answered  her  Mother,  "Rover's  coat  of 
hair  fits  him  perfectly,  doesn't  it  ?  And  yet  it  is  loose 
enough  for  him  to  run  and  leap  and  play.  That  is 

75 


76 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


how  clothes  ought  to  be.  I  try  to  buy  clothes  for  you 
children  that  fit  and  yet  are  loose,  so  as  not  to  inter- 
fere with  your  games.  Tight  collars  and  belts  and 
shoes  are  very  uncomfortable  and  also  very  bad  for 
you.  They  keep  the  blood  from  running  fast  through 

your  bodies  and  prevent  your 
breathing  and  moving  easily. 
The  best  way  is  to  have  no  high, 
tight  collars,  no  snug  belts,  no 
'round'  garters,  but  to  have 
all  the  weight  of  the  clothes 
hang  from  the  shoulders. " 

"Here  is  a  picture,"  said 
Father,  "that  Dr.  Clark  gave 
me.  This  baby  is  named  Mari- 
etta, and  her  parents  came  from 
Italy.  They  have  a  way  there 
of  tying  their  babies  up  into 
stiff  little  bundles  like  this. 
Poor  little  Marietta  can't  kick 
at  all.  She  can  scarcely  move 
her  legs  and  feet.  Dr.  Clark  is 
trying  to  get  little  Marietta's 
Mother  to  dress  her  like  an  American  baby,  so  she  can 
kick  and  grow  strong. ' ' 

"Dorothy  Frost  is  almost  twelve,  and  she  says 
she's  going  to  put  on  corsets,  pretty  soon,"  said  Ruth, 
"so  as  to  have  a  nice  figure." 

"I  suppose,"  remarked  Father,  "that  Miss 
Dorothy  will  also  wear  a  ring  in  her  nose,  as  some 
stylish  African  ladies  do." 


THE  CLOTHES  WE  WEAR 


77 


"Oh,  gracious,  no!"  cried  Ruth.  "Of  course 
she  won't." 

"Well,"  said  Father,  "a  nose-ring  would  really 
be  more  sensible  than  a  corset.  It  wouldn't  interfere 
with  her  breathing,  or  injure  her  at  all,  but  a  tight 
corset  will  squeeze  her  lungs  so  she  can't  breathe  well 
and  press  on  her  liver  and  stomach  so  she  can't  digest 
her  food  properly,  and  will  keep  her  from  growing 
and  developing." 

Paul  had  been  smoothing  Rover's  silky  ears.  "I 
know  another  thing  about  Rover's  coat  that  is  nice," 
said  he.  "It  is  warm,  but  it  isn't  heavy.  Overcoats 
are  so  heavy,  Mother — that's  why  I 
hate  to  wear  one." 

"Yes,"  said  his  Mother,  "in  win- 
ter we  need  warm  clothes,  but  it  is  a 
great  mistake  to  have  them  too  heavy. 
Mother  Nature  is  very  wise  about  that 
— she  keeps  the  birds  warm  by  giving 
them  feathers  that  are — oh,  so  light — 
and  yet  as  warm  as  toast." 

"I  wonder,"  said  Mr.  Weston, 
"how  you'd  like  to  be  an  Eskimo  boy, 
Paul,  and  dress  in  a  suit  of  fur?" 

"There's  a  picture  of  one  in  my 
geography,"  said  Ruth.     "Here  he 
is.    I  suppose  the  fur  keeps  him  warm,  but  it  looks 
very  clumsy." 

6 '  I  believe,  inside  their  snow  huts,  they  take  these 
heavy  fur  suits  off,"  said  Mother,  "just  as  I  always 
tell  you  children  to  take  off  your  hats  and  coats  and 


78 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


rubbers  when  you  come  indoors.  It  is  especially  bad 
to  wear  rubber  rain-coats  and  overshoes  indoors,  be- 
cause they  have  no  tiny  holes  in  them,  as  cloth  has,  and 
give  the  skin  no  chance  to  breathe.  ' 

"I  didn't  know  we  breathed  through  our  skin, 
Daddy,  "said  Paul. 

"We  breathe  mostly  with  our  lungs  and  through 
our  noses,"  said  his  Father,  "but  we  breathe,  too, 
through  our  skins,  and  clothes  made  of  rubber,  or  even 
leather,  are  not  good  for  us,  because  they  do  not  let 
the  air  get  through  to  our  skin." 

"I  wonder,"  said  Mother,  "whether  the  children 

would  not  like  to  see  a  pic- 
ture of  George  Washing- 
ton's step-grandchildren." 
"Oh,  yes!  "cried  Ruth 
and  Paul  together. 

Mother  went  upstairs 
and  returned  with  an  old- 
fashioned  book  in  her 
hand.  She  opened  the 
book,  with  a  child  leaning 
over  each  of  her 
shoulders.  "There,"  she 
said,  "are  Nellie  Custis 
and  her  brother  George, 
Martha  Washington's  grandchildren." 

"Why,"  said  Paul,  "they  look  just  like  a  grown- 
up lady  and  gentleman." 

"Yes,"  laughed  Mother,  "in  those  days  children 
were  dressed  exactly  like  their  parents.  Why,  when 


THE  CLOTHES  WE  WEAR 


80  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

little  Nellie  was  only  four  years  old,  General  Wash- 
ington sent  to  London  for  corsets,  stiff  petticoats  and 
gloves  for  her,  and  even  a  mask  to  keep  her  little  face 
from  getting  freckled." 

"In  this  same  book,"  said  Father,  "there  is  part 
of  a  diary  written  by  a  little  girl  twelve  years  old,  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago."  He  turned  the 
pages  and  read,  "I  was  dressed  in  my  yellow  coat, 
black  bib  and  apron,  black  feathers  on  my  head,  my 
paste  comb,  all  my  paste,  garnet,  marquasett  and  jet 
pins,  together  with  my  silver  plumes — my  locket 
rings,  black  collar  round  my  neck,  black  mitts,  two 
or  three  yards  of  blue  ribbon,  striped  tucker  and 
ruffles  and  my  silk  shoes  completed  my  costume." 

"Oh,  goodness!"  giggled  Ruth,  "how  perfectly 
dreadful  she  must  have  looked !  I  'm  glad  I  didn  't  live 
so  long  ago." 

"But  far,  far  longer  ago  than  that,"  said  Mother, 
"in  the  beautiful  country  called  Greece,  they  wore 
the  most  sensible  and  beautiful  clothes  ever  made. 
Here"  —she  took  a  book  from  the  table — "is  a  picture 
of  a  little  Grecian  girl.  Greece  was  a  warm  country, 
so  they  did  not  have  to  wear  much  clothing." 

"Yes,"  said  Paul,  "she  looks  as  if  she  could  have 
some  fun.  I'd  rather  be  dressed  like  that  than  like 
those  poor  Custis  children." 

"So  would  I,"  agreed  Father,  "for  this  little  girl 
is  dressed  somewhat  as  Mother  Nature  dresses  the 
animals.  Her  clothes  are  loose,  light,  comfortable, 
simple  and  beautiful." 

"And  another  nice  thing  about  Grecian  clothes," 


THE  CLOTHES  WE  WEAR 


81 


said  Mother,  "was  that  they  were  easy  to  care  for. 
They  weren't  always  having  to  be  pressed  and  have 
buttons  sewed  on  and  elbows  mended.  By  the  way," 
she  added,  "I  think  someone  forgot  to  hang  up  his 
clothes  last  night.  I  found  them  lying  in  a  heap  on 
the  floor  in  Paul's  room.  They  were  getting  all 
wrinkled  and,  worse  yet,  they  were  not  getting  aired 
out,  ready  to  put  on  in  the  morning.  If  Father  buys 
the  clothes  and  I  mend  them,  I  think  Paul  might  at 
least  try  to  keep  them  clean  and  neat." 


Paul  looked  very  meek.    "  I  '11  try, ' '  he  said. 

Father  had  been  sketching.  i l  Now  here, ' '  he  said, 
"is  a  picture  of  Dorothy  Frost  as  she  is  and  as  she 
might  be.  Which  do  you  call  a  really  well-dressed 
little  girl  ?" 

6 


82  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

Euth  looked  hard  at  the  pictures.  "Well,"  she 
said,  "of  course,  she  looks  more  stylish  this  way,  but 
she  looks  a  lot  prettier  and  more  comfortable  dressed 
that  way,  and  I  think  her  clothes— 

"My,  my,  my!"  exclaimed  Mother,  "there's  the 
clock  striking  eight!  Night-clothes  are  the  only 
clothes  for  us  to  discuss  now." 

The  experiments  two  and  three  here  described  have 
been  modified  from  some  described  in ' '  Hygiene  as  Nature 
Study, "  by  Gregg.  (Pub.  by  author,  University  Place, 
Nebraska.  Neb.  Wesleyan  College.) 

THINGS  TO  DO 

1.  Let  us  examine  some  of  our  animal  friends,  and  see 
how  their  clothes  keep  them  warm.    Watch  the  sparrows 
perched  on  the  fence  in  winter.    How  do  they  hold  their 
feathers  ?   Could  there  be  tiny  spaces  filled  with  still  air 
between  the  feathers  ?    Notice  the  coats  of  horses  and  cows 
in  winter.    Are  they  as  sleek  as  in  summer?    Is  your 
dog's  or  cat's  fur  of  the  same  thickness,  summer  and 
winter?    The  tiny  spaces  between  feathers  or  fur,  filled 
with  still  air,  help  to  keep  the  warmth  of  the  body  from 
getting  away. 

Look  at  your  sweater,  your  wool  coat,  your  cotton 
shirt.  Which  of  these,  has  the  most  tiny  spaces  between 
the  threads  1  Which  is  warmest  ? 

2.  Try  this  experiment  on  yourself.    Borrow  a  rain- 
coat from  some  grown-up  person.     Put  it  around  you 
without  putting  your  arms  in  the  sleeves.    Get  some  one 
to  button  it  up,  then  tuck  it  in  around  your  feet,  and  also 
put  the  sleeves  in  the  pockets.    Stand  in  it  for  about  five 
minutes.    How  do  you  feel?    Why  do  you  feel  this  way? 
Without  opening  the  coat,  let  some  one  lift  it  off  over  your 
head.    How  does  the  air  smell?    Can  you  see  now,  why 


THE  CLOTHES  WE  WEAR  83 

clothing  should  have  tiny  spaces  in  the  material,  so  air 
may  pass  through  ? 

Examine  the  outer  surface  of  a  pair  of  rubbers,  a  pair 
of  patent  leather  shoes,  a  pair  of  leather  shoes,  a  pair  of 
canvas  shoes.  Which  have  no  tiny  pores  on  the  surface! 
Which  has  the  most?  Which  is  best  for  summer 
wear?  Why? 

3.  If  you  wish  to  see  which  materials  will  take  the 
heat  away  from  the  body  fastest,  you  may  try  this  experi- 
ment.    Collect  a  thin  piece  of  flannel  or  woolen  goods, 
pieces  of  cotton,  linen  and  silk  of  about  the  same  weight. 
Find  a  hot  radiator  or  stovepipe.     Cover  each  of  four 
fingers  with  a  fold  of  one  of  the  four  pieces  of  goods.  Now 
put  each  of  the  four  covered  finger  tips  with  equal  firm- 
ness on  the  hot  surface.    Which  finger  gets  hot  first  ?  Then 
which  material  is  carrying  the  heat  from  the  radiator  to 
your  hand  fastest?    Which,  then,  would  carry  away  the 
heat  from  your  body  fastest?    Which  would  be  good  sum- 
mer materials. 

4.  Make  collections  of  all  the  different  materials  we 
use  for  clothes,  as  rubber,  leather,  cotton.     From  what 
animals  or  plants  do  these  materials  come?     Can  you 
collect  pictures  of  the  places,  the  animals  and  plants  from 
which  we  get  such  materials  ?    Can  you  find  pictures  show- 
ing the  costumes  worn  by  different  people  in  different 
countries?    Do  the  pictures  tell  you  any  stories  of  how 
these  people  live? 

THINGS  TO  KEMEMBEE, 

Clothes  are  for  protection  and  for  beauty ;  they  must 
not  prevent  any  muscle  f4:om  moving  freely,  nor  press  on 
any  blood-vessels,  nor  prevent  any  organ  from  doing 
its  work. 

In  winter,  clothes  must  hold  in  the  body's  heat.  They 
must  absorb  perspiration  so  as  to  keep  the  skin  dry.  They 


84  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

must  let  the  perspiration  evaporate  slowly,  so  that  the 
body  will  not  get  chilled.  They  must  let  air  circulate 
between  the  skin  and  the  outside.  Clothes  must  be  light 
in  weight.  The  clothes  we  wear  next  to  our  bodies  should 
always  be  very  clean  and  sweet.  In  our  climate,  knitted 
cotton  underwear  is  warm  enough  for  most  healthy  people, 
except  babies  and  old  people.  Besides,  it  can  be  washed 
easily.  Wool  is  good  for  outside  clothes.  Our  winter 
dresses,  coats  and  trousers  should  be  brushed  and  hung 
up  neatly  when  not  worn.  They  then  last  longer  and  look 
well  until  worn  out. 

In  summer,  clothes  should  let  the  body  heat  escape 
easily.  They,  too,  must  absorb  perspiration,  and  let  it 
evaporate,  as  winter  underclothes  do.  Cotton  and  linen 
are  good  summer  materials.  Clean  clothes  are  always 
cooler  than  dirty  ones. 

At  night  our  clothes  need  to  be  aired  well.  Clean 
stockings  every  morning  will  make  our  feet  comfortable. 
Our  shoes,  also,  should  be  aired  at  night.  They  should 
be  cleaned  and  dried  after  they  have  been  wet,  in  order  to 
make  them  last  longer. 

Eubbers  and  raincoats  should  be  taken  off  as  soon  as 
possible  after  we  enter  a  house  to  stay  a  while. 

As  all  of  us  wish  to  appear  well,  we  try  to  choose 
clothes  of  pretty  and  becoming  colors,  and  good  shapes. 
But  we  are  as  foolish  as  uncivilized  people  in  other  coun- 
tries, if  we  allow  fashions  to  make  us  buy  clothes  that 
are  too  tight,  too  stiff,  too  warm,  too  long,  too  short,  or 
too  costly.  Do  you  know  any  bad  fashions  like  this,  nowa- 
days! Do  you  think  your  clothes  are  sensible? 

THINGS  TO  THINK  ABOUT 

1.  Why  is  a  dog's  winter  suit  a  good  suit  of  clothes 
for  him? 

2.  Suppose  you  could  choose  your  own  clothes  this  win- 
ter, what  articles  would  you  buy  ?  What  materials  ?  Why  1 


THE  CLOTHES  WE  WEAR  8£ 

3.  How  do  you  care  for  the  clothes  you  take  off  at 
night!    What  is  the  best  way? 

4.  How  do  Eskimos  dress!    Why  do  they  need  such 
clothes  I    Why  would  these  be  bad  for  us  ? 

5.  What  implements  do  we  need  to  keep  our  outer 
clothes  in  good  condition!    How  many  of  these  articles 
do  you  use  on  your  clothes?     How  should  we  care  for 
our  underclothes  1 


CHAPTER  IX 
A  PAIR  OF  WHITE  HORSES 

" DADDY,  why  didn't  Aunt  Louise  come  with  us 
to-day  ?"  asked  Ruth. 

She  and  Paul  both  had  hold  of  Father's  hands, 
and  the  three  of  them  were  having  great  fun,  wad- 
ing in  the  lake,  while  Mother  sat  on  the  sandy 
bank  sewing. 

"I  think,"  said  Father,  "that  it  was  because  her 
horses  couldn't  travel  so  far.'' 

"O,  Daddy,"  protested  Paul,  "you're  always  call- 
ing things  make-believe  names.  Auntie  hasn't  any 
horses.  What  do  you  mean  ? ' ' 

"I  know,"  laughed  Ruth.  "Mother  told  Auntie 
we  were  coming  to  the  beach  to-day  on  '  Shanks 's 
Mare!' — that  means  on  our  own  feet.  But  what's 
the  matter  with  Auntie's  feet,  Daddy?" 

"Why,  I  believe  she  has  a  case  of  flat-foot." 

"I    never    heard    of    flat-foot. 
What  is  it?" 

Just  then,  Mother  called,  "John, 
those  children  have  been  in  the 
water  quite  long  enough."  So 
Father,  Ruth  and  Paul  sat  down 
beside  her  and  scrubbed  their  feet  dry  in  the 
warm  sand. 

"What's  flat-foot,  Daddy?"  insisted  Paul. 

Mr.  Weston  pointed  to  Ruth's  foot-print  in  the 


A  PAIR  OF  WHITE  HORSES 


87 


wet  sand  and  drew  the  print  of  another  foot  beside 
it  like  this.  " There,"  he  said,  "if  Ruth's  foot  were 
flat,  it  would  make  a  print  like  this,  but  the  inner  side 
of  the  sole  arches  up  in  the  middle,  so  it  makes  a 
print  like  this." 

Ruth  looked  at  her  bare  foot.  "So  it  does  arch," 
she  said;  "I  never  noticed  before.  What  keeps  it 
from  falling  down  and  being  flat?" 


"Do  you  remember,"  Mother  asked,  "the  stone 
bridge  that  we  saw  to-day,  with  the  great  load  of  hay 
crossing  it?" 

"Oh,  yes,"  cried  Paul,  "it  was  such  a  pretty  arch, 
with  the  stones  all  fitted  together." 

Father  had  taken  out  his  pencil  and  made  a  sketch. 
"There,  children,"  he  said,  "your  foot-arches  are 
made  of  bones,  instead  of  stones,  but  they  are  a  good 
deal  like  the  arched  bridge,  and  they  carry  a  pretty 
heavy  load." 


88  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

"What  makes  the  arch  fall,  so  people  get  flat 
feet?'-'  said  Paul. 

"Often/'  Father  replied,  "people  are  born  so. 
Sometimes  babies  are  allowed  to  walk  when  they  are 
too  little,  and  the  bones  of  the  arch  are  still  soft  and 

cannot  bear  the 
weight.  Some  peo- 
ple stand  or  walk 
all  day  long  and 
the  arches  get  too 
tired.  And  very 
often  people  are 

silly  enough  to  wear  tight,  high-heeled,  uncomfort- 
able shoes." 

"I  know  how  to  get  comfortable  shoes,"  exclaimed 
Paul.  "When  I  need  shoes,  I  stand  in  my  bare  feet 
on  a  sheet  of  paper  and  Mother  runs  a  pencil  all 
around  my  foot.  Then  I  don't  even  have  to  go  to  the 
store  with  her.  She  just  shows  the  pattern  of  my 
foot  to  the  shoe  clerk." 

"But,"  objected  Ruth,  "a  shoe  might  fit  and  yet 
not  be  comfortable  at  all.  I  never  saw  how  Cinder- 
ella could  possibly  dance  in  glass  slippers." 

"Nor  I,"  agreed  Mother.  "I  want  my  shoes  to 
be  just  as  soft  and  bend  just  as  easily  as  possible." 

"If  you  had  glass  shoes,  you  wouldn't  have  to 
wear  rubbers,"  said  Paul. 

"No,"  replied  Father,  "but  glass  and  rubber, 
though  they  keep  the  wet  out,  keep  the  perspiration 
in.  That 's  why,  if  you  wear  your  rubbers  in  the  house, 
your  feet  get  hot  and  uncomfortable." 


A  PAIR  OF  WHITE  HORSES  89 

"Mother,"  asked  Euth,  "if  your  Fairy  God- 
mother offered  you  a  pair  of  glass  slippers,  what  kind 
would  you  ask  for  instead?" 

"Well,"  said  Mother,  "if  it  were  summer,  I'd 
ask  for  a  pair  of  soft,  low-heeled  sandals.  They  would 
give  my  feet  lots  of  air  and  sunshine  and  comfort. ' ' 

Father  had  been  drawing  and  now  he  held  up  a 
sketch.  l '  Now  here, ' '  he  said, ' '  are  the  slippers  that  a 
Fairy  Godmother  offered  to  four  of  her  godchildren. 


This  was  chosen  by  a  little  Dutch  girl.  It's  made  of 
wood  and  will  last  forever." 

"I  wouldn't  choose  that,"  said  Ruth.  "It's  just 
as  stiff  and  uncomfortable  as  a  glass  slipper/' 

"And  this,"  Father  continued,  "she  gave  to  a  lit- 
tle Chinese  Cinderella.  You  see,  this  little  girl's  feet 
had  been  bandaged  since  she  was  about  five  years  old, 
so  she  could  only  toddle,  not  run  and  jump  and  climb, 
as  you  can." 

' '  Gracious ! ' '  exclaimed  Paul.  "  I  'm  glad  my  feet 
are  good  and  big." 


90  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

"And  these/'  continued  his  Father,  "she  offered 
to  a  little  American  girl.  See,  this  pair  is  of  shiny 
patent-leather." 

Ruth  shook  her  head.  "They  are  pretty,  but  in 
school  the  other  day,  Maud  Smith  cried  because  her 
patent-leather  shoes  hurt  her  feet.  Besides,  I 
couldn't  walk  half  a  minute  in  those  high  heels,  and 
the  pointed  toes  would  squeeze  my  feet  all  into 
a  lump.7' 

"Well,  then,"  said  Mother,  "I  fancy  the  Fairy 
Q  odmother  would  let  you  choose  this  other  pair.  They 
are  soft,  tan  leather,  nicely  lined,  so  there  are  no 
rough  places  to  hurt  your  feet.  The  sole  and  toe  are 
broad  and  the  heels  low,  and  there  is  a  pretty  rosette 
to  trim  it.  In  those,  you  could  dance  happily  with 
the  prince  and  run  away  at  midnight  with  no  fear  of 
falling  down  the  palace  steps." 

Paul's  thoughts  had  gone  back  to  " Shanks 's 
Mare."  "I  think  it's  funny,"  he  said,  "to  call 
your  feet  your  'horses.'  What  made  you  think  of 
it,  Daddy?" 

"Why,"  Father  answered,  "I  got  it  from  an  old 
Scotch  nurse  of  mine.  When  I  was  a  tiny  little  fel- 
low, she  took  such  good  care  of  me.  Every  morning 
when  I  had  my  bath  she  washed  and  dried  my  feet 
so  carefully.  She  cut  the  toe-nails  straight  across, 
not  round  at  the  corners,  for  that  often  makes  them 
grow  into  the  flesh  and  hurt.  Every  day  she  had  clean 
stockings  for  me,  and  she  took  great  care  that  my 
stockings  and  shoes  should  be  plenty  long  enough. 
She  taught  me  to  stand  squarely  on  my  feet,  not  on 


92  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

one  side  or  the  other,  and  she  made  me  walk  lightly 
on  the  balls  of  my  feet,  with  my  toes  pointed  straight 
ahead,  like  an  Indian.  Just  before  she  tucked  me 
into  my  crib  at  night  she  bathed  my  feet  again,  and 
as  she  dried  each  foot,  she  would  sing  to  it  in  a  pretty 
Scotch  accent, 

'  Little  white  pony, 
Warm  soft  and  bonnie, 
Dancing  and  prancing  till  weary  of  play, 
Best  in  your  stable, 
Then  you'll  be  able 
To  run  thro'  the  heather  at  break  of  the  day.' 

And  ever  since  then,  Paul,  I've  thought  of  my  feet  as 
two  good,  strong,  white  horses,  and  I  try  to  take  care 
of  them,  so  they  can  work  well  for  me." 

"I  know  the  sort  of  feet  I'd  love  to  have,"  said 
Ruth.  "I'd  like  to  have  feet  with  wings,  like  the 
statue  we  saw  in  the  Art  Gallery." 

"Well,"  laughed  Father,  "we  can't  all  be  Greek 
gods,  like  Mercury,  and  fly  with  wings  on  our  feet, 
but  that's  no  reason  why  we  should  hobble  along  with 
corns  and  bunions  on  them." 

Mother  had  gathered  up  her  sewing.  "Come 
folks,"  she  said,  "put  your  white  horses  into  their 
harness.  We  must  gallop  them  home  before  supper." 

THINGS  TO  DO 

1.  When  you  get  ready  to  go  to  bed  to-night,  get  a 
piece  of  colored  paper  and  have  a  pencil  handy.  Before 
you  take  your  bath,  wet  the  soles  of  your  feet,  then  stand 
on  the  paper  with  feet  parallel.  Step  off  and  while  the 


A  PAIR  OF  WHITE  HORSES  93 

impression  of  your  feet  is  still  on  the  paper,  outline  the 
wet  prints.  Notice  the  places  where  your  foot  did  not  wet 
the  paper  and  find  these  places  on  your  feet.  Have  you 
a  well-arched  foot?  Are  your  toes  nicely  spread  out,  or 
are  they  bent  together  to  a  point  ? 

2.  Next  time  you  are  down  town,  go  past  a  shoe-store. 
See  how  many  different  shapes  you  can  find  in  children's, 
men's  and  women's  shoes.    Which  shapes  are  most  like 
the  print  of  your  foot  ?  Which  would  be  best  for  the  feet  ? 

3.  Find  pictures  of  foot  coverings  worn  by  people  in 
different  parts  of  the  world.    What  stories  about  the  lives 
of  the  people  do  these  pictures  tell? 

THINGS  TO  REMEMBER 

Our  feet  carry  the  weight  of  our  bodies,  because  their 
bones  and  muscles  are  put  together  to  form  arches,  like 
the  span  of  a  bridge.  We  can  help  our  feet  by  practicing 
good  standing  and  walking  positions.  These  are,  to  stand 
squarely  on  our  feet,  to  walk  on  the  balls  of  the  feet,  to 
bend  the  foot  with  each  step,  and  to  point  the  toes  ahead, 
not  to  "ten  minutes  to  two." 

We  should  choose  shoes  shaped  to  preserve  these  won- 
derful foot-arches.  If  we  are  growing  boys  and  girls,  our 
shoes  should  follow  the  shape  of  the  foot,  heels  should 
be  broad  and  low ;  shoes  should  be  long  enough  to  let  the 
foot  slip  forward  when  we  walk;  toes  should  be  wide 
enough  so  the  toes  inside  may  move  naturally ;  soles  should 
bend  with  every  movement;  inside  linings  should  be 
smooth  and  free  from  rough  places.  The  best  materials 
are  those  that  are  tough,  soft,  nearly  waterproof,  but  with 
tiny  pores  to  let  air  in.  What  would  these  be! 

Care  for  the  feet  by  bathing  them  at  night,  to  cleanse 
them  of  the  perspiration  and  dead  skin  that  collected 
during  the  day.  Trim  the  toe-nails  straight  across.  Put 
on  clean  dry  stockings  every  morning.  And  remember, 


94  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

that  while  we  are  young  our  bones  are  soft.  Bad  posi- 
tions, bad  shoes,  bad  care  will  harm  our  feet  much  more 
than  when  we  are  older. 

THINGS  TO  THINK  ABOUT 

1.  Can  you  tell  what  makes  a  perfect  foot  I    How  does 
this  kind  of  foot  help  carry  the  body? 

2.  Can  you  walk  as  an  Indian  boy  would!     Tell  and 
show  just  how  you  would  do  it.    Can  you  tell  why  this  is 
a  good  way  to  walk  ? 

3.  What  are  six  good  things  to  look  for  in  buying 
shoes  ? 

4.  Make  out  a  program  for  taking  good  care  of  your 
feet.    Follow  it  for  one  week  and  decide  if  it  is  a  good 
thing  to  keep  up. 

5.  Find  out,  if  you  can,  what  the  soldiers  are  taught  to 
do  for  their  feet.    Why  must  they  do  these  things  1 


CHAPTER  X 
TAKING  PICTURES 

RUTH  and  Paul  always  loved  to  walk  with  their 
Father  because  he  made  up  such  interesting  games. 
One  favorite  they  called  "free  shopping.77  They 
played  it  on  Main  Street,  where  the  shops  were.  They 
would  walk  quickly  past  a  shop-window  and  then  each 
told  what,  in  the  window,  he  had  bought  and  what  he 
was  going  to  do  with  it.  You  had  to  be  very  quick 
indeed  to  see  everything  in  the  window  and  choose 
the  nicest  thing. 

One  day,  when  they  were  playing  "free  shop- 
ping/7 Ruth  exclaimed,  "Oh,  I  bought  something 
lovely.  I  bought  a  camera.  Now,  I'm  going  to  take 
a  picture  of  Mother  and  give  it  to  you,  Daddy,  for 
your  birthday." 

Father  smiled.  "Thank  you,  dear,  but  I  have  a 
whole  album  full  of  pictures  of  Mother. " 

"Where  are  they,  Daddy?77  said  Paul.  "I  never 
saw  them.77 

"I  keep  them  here  in  my  brain-album,77  said 
Father,  tapping  his  forehead,  "and  all  I  have  to  do, 
day  or  night,  is  just  to  close  my  eyes  and  I  can  see 
them  as  plain  as  can  be.77 

"Why,77  said  Ruth,  shutting  her  eyes,  "so  can  I. 
And  it's  so  much  prettier  than  a  photograph,  because 
her  hair  is  brown  and  her  eyes  are  blue  and  she  smiles 
at  me.  I  never  really  thought  before  that  my  eyes 

95 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


were  taking  pictures  and  putting  them  into  an  album 
inside  my  head.    How  do  they  do  it,  Daddy?"" 

"They  do  it  just  the  way  a  camera  does.  No,  I'm 
not  joking,  Ruth,  your  eyes  really  are  cameras.  Let's 
sit  down  a  moment  here  in  the  park  and  I'll  tell  you. 
If  you  could  see  inside  a  camera,  it  is  something  like 
this."  Here  Mr.  Weston  took  a  leaf  from  his  note- 
book and  sketched  rapidly.  "The  camera  is  just  a 
box  lined  with  black,  and  with  a  specially  fixed  sheet 
of  celluloid  or  glass  here  in  the  back,  for  the  picture 

to   fall   on.    And 


SHUTTER^ 


GLASS  T^ATE  , 


in 


what     is     this 
front,  Ruth?" 

"Why,  that  is 
the  glass  lens  for 
the  light  to  come 
through." 

"Yes,  and  here 
is  the  black  cover,  or  shutter,  that  opens  and  leaves  a 
little  hole  to  let  the  light  in  when  we  take  a  picture 
and  closes  after  the  picture  is  taken." 

"But  my  eyes  aren't  like  that,"  objected  Paul. 
"Oh,  yes,  they  are.     Feel  gently  just  above  and 
below  your  eye.    What  shape  is  it?" 
"It  feels  like  a  ball." 

"Yes,  your  eye-camera  is  a  ball-shaped  box.  Now. 
does  the  front  of  your  eye  have  any  little  hole,  like  the 
camera,  for  the  light  to  come  through?" 

Paul  looked  closely  at  Ruth 's  eyes.  ' '  Yes, ' '  he  said, 
"in  the  middle  of  the  brown  part,  there  is  a  round, 
black  hole.  O,  Daddy,  I  can  see  my  picture  in  it!" 


TAKING  PICTURES  97 

"To  be  sure,"  said  Father.  "The  brown  part, 
which  is  often  blue  or  gray,  or  greenish,  is  like  the 
camera-shutter.  It  opens  wide  and  leaves  a  big  hole, 
or  closes  almost  shut,  according  to  how  bright  the 
light  is." 

"Yes,"  said  Ruth,  "I've  noticed  that  with  my 
kitty.  In  the  sun,  the  holes  are  just  tiny  slits,  and 
in  the  dark,  they  are  oh,  so  big  and  round." 

"Now,"  continued  Father,  "perhaps  you'd  like  to 
see  how  the  inside  of  your  eye  looks.  If  it  were  cut 
in  half,  it  would  be 
something  like  this. 
You  see,  here  in  front 
is  the  colored  curtain, 
or  iris,  with  the  little 
hole,  or  pupil,  as  we 
call  it,  for  the  light  to 
come  through.  The 
light  passes  through 
the  lens,  just  as  it  does  in  the  camera,  and  falls  on  the 
black  lining,  or  retina,  at  the  back  of  the  eyeball  and 
makes  a  picture  there." 

"But  how  do  my  eyes  move?"  asked  Paul. 

Father  drew  another  sketch.  "These  are  six 
muscles,  like  strips  of  elastic,  to  turn  the  eye  from 
one  side  to  the  other,  or  roll  it  up  or  down." 

"And  how  do  the  pictures  from  our  eyes  get  into 
our  brains  and  stay  there  *?" 

"That,"  said  Father,  "is  where  the  eye  is  more 
wonderful  than  any  other  camera  in  the  world.  For 
years,  wise  men  have  been  trying  to  find  out  how  to 

7 


98  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

telegraph  pictures,  but  the  pictures  taken  in  our  eye- 
cameras  are  all  instantly  telegraphed  to  our  brains. 
Here,  at  the  back,  is  the  telegraph-wire,  or  nerve,  that 
carries  the  message.  It  is  printed  on  the  brain  and 
there  it  stays  forever." 

"I  guess  my  eyes  are  pretty  good  cameras,"  said 
Ruth.  "Without  them  I  couldn't  see  you  or  Paul, 

and  I  wouldn't  have  any 
lovely    pictures    in    my 
brain  to  look  at  in  the 
dark  after  I'm  in  bed." 
"No,"     said     Paul, 
"you  couldn't  find  your 
way  around,  or  read,  and 
you  might  get  run  over,  or 
fall  into  the  river." 
"Yes,"  chimed  in  Ruth,  "and  when  I  grew  up, 
I  couldn't  be  an  artist,  as  I  want  to.    I'd  just  have  to 
sit  in  the  dark  and  fold  my  hands. ' ' 

"People  might  help  and  teach  you,"  said  her 
Father,  "but  it  is  very  hard  and  sad  to  be  blind.  And 
even  weak  eyes  make  our  work  and  study  hard  and 
give  us  headaches,  indigestion  and  lots  of  other 
troubles.  You  see,  although  our  eyes  are  such  valu- 
able and  wonderful  cameras,  most  people  seem  to 
think  they  need  take  no  care  of  them." 

"But,"  said  Ruth,  "I  get  so  interested  reading 
that  I  forget  all  about  lighting  the  lamp." 

' '  I  saw  you  last  night, ' '  replied  her  Father.  '  *  You 
were  doing  five  wrong  things  at  once.  First,  you  were 
reading  in  a  bad  light.  Second,  you  were  reading  fine 


100  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

print.  Third,  your  nose  almost  touched  the  page. 
Fourth,  you  were  facing  the  light,  and  fifth,  you  had 
read  so  long  that  your  eyes  were  tired,  yet  you  cruelly 
insisted  on  using  the  poor  things.7' 

Euth  hung  her  head.  "Well,  tell  us  five  right 
things  to  do,  Daddy/'  she  begged. 

"No,  draw  us  a  picture,"  said  Paul. 

So  Mr.  Weston  drew  this  picture.  "What  is  the 
little  girl's  name?"  asked  Paul,  who  always  wanted 
to  know  the  names  of  picture  people. 

"We  will  call  her  Miss  Vera  Wise,"  said  Father. 
"And  now  I'll  write  you  some  nonsense  verses 
about  her — perhaps  they'll  help  you  to  remember 
your  eyes." 

"Miss  Vera  Wise  prizes  her  eyes 
More  than  some  who  are  older. 
You  see  her  light,  steady  and  bright, 
Falls  over  her  left  shoulder. 
No  pale,  fine  print  will  make  her  squint ; 
She  does  not  read  all  day. 
If  you,  too,  prize  your  precious  eyes, 
Follow  Miss  Vera's  way." 

' '  Miss  Vera  is  wise, ' '  said  Ruth.  ' '  She  '11  make  me 
remember  about  having  a  good  light,  and  sitting  with 
my  back  to  it,  and  with  the  book  about  a  foot  away, 
and  not  reading  fine  print.  Is  there  anything  else 
to  remember,  Daddy?" 

"Just  one  principal  thing — that  is  to  keep  the 
eyes  clean.  Never,  never  use  a  dirty  towel,  or  wash- 
bowl in  a  public  washroom,  never  rub  your  eyes  with 


TAKING  PICTURES: 


101 


TE 


dirty  fingers,  or  gloves,  or  a  soiled  handkerchief. 
Bathe  them  every  morning,  and  if  they  are  red  or 
tired,  or  if  things  look  blurred,  go  straight  to  the 
oculist.  Your  eyes  may  need  medicine,  or  they 
may  need  glasses,  and  no  one  but  the  oculist  can 
tell  which. " 

"  Yesterday,  in  school,  Daddy,  one  of  the  boys  got 
something  in  his  eye,  and  the  teacher  pulled  his  upper 
lid  over  the  under  one  and 
the  eyelashes  brushed  the 
speck  out." 

"Yes,"  said  Father, 
' '  sometimes  that  works. 
You  see,  children,  the  tears 
help.  Above  the  outer  side 
of  each  eye  is  the  tear-bag.  ff 
It  works  like  this.  The 
tears  flow  across  the  front  of  the  eye  and  wash  it  and 
run  off  down  this  little  hole  into  the  nose.  But  if  the 
tears  and  eyelashes  don't  get  the  speck  out,  and  it 
keeps  on  hurting,  it  is  best  to  go  at  once  to  the  oculist, 
Eyes  are  too  precious  to  fool  with.  And  now,"  he 
added,  rising,  " let's  run  home  and  take  some  pictures 
of  Mother  and  the  supper-table." 

THINGS  TO  DO 

1.  How  many  of  you  have  played  Ruth's  "free-shop- 
ping ' '  game  1    Try  it.    Try,  also,  to  see  as  many  things  as 
you  can,  and  to  make  a  list  of  them  afterwards.     How 
sharp  are  your  eyes? 

2.  Get  a  mirror.    Notice  the  parts  of  your  eye  that 
the  story  describes.    Find  the  little  black  hole  or  pupil, 


102  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

the  curtain  or  iris.  Notice  how  the  iris  and  pupil 
change  in  size  as  you  look  from  darkness  into  light.  Per- 
haps, if  you  bring  your  kodak  to  school,  your  teacher  will 
help  you  to  find  out  how  it  resembles  your  eye. 

3.  Feel  gently  around  your  eye,  and  discover  the  facts 
about  it  that  your  story  describes. 

4.  Watch  dogs,  cats,  fish  in  the  aquarium.    How  are 
their  eyes  like  yours  I    Different  from  yours  ! 

5.  To-night,  try  sitting  on  different  sides  of  the  read- 
ing lamp  or  electric  light.    Which  side  gives  the  best  light 
for  reading  and  writing!    Why! 

THINGS  TO  REMEMBER 

The  eye  is  the  camera  which  takes  for  us  pictures 
of  the  world  around  us.  It  is  something  like  our  kodaks, 
but  much  more  wonderful.  It  is  a  hollow,  dark-lined  ball. 
The  light  enters  through  a  tiny  hole,  the  pupil.  Around 
the  pupil  is  a  curtain  of  muscle  called  the  iris.  The  iris 
makes  the  pupil  very  large,  if  there  is  little  light,  and 
small,  if  there  is  too  much  light  for  the  sensitive  eye. 
Across  the  little  hole  stretches  the  lens.  The  light  must 
pass  through  this  before  it  can  enter  the  eye.  The  lens 
helps  to  make  the  eye-picture  clear.  The  picture  which 
the  light  brings  then  falls  upon  a  very  sensitive  lining 
spread  inside,  over  the  back  of  the  eye-ball  camera.  This 
wonderful  film  is  the  retina.  On  it  the  picture  is  taken. 
From  the  retina  runs  a  nerve  called  the  optic  nerve. 
This  telegraphs  the  picture  taken  on  the  retina  to  the 
brain.  In  the  brain  the  picture  is  developed  so  that  we 
recognize  it.  It  seems  to  be  printed,  somehow,  on  the 
brain,  because  it  stays  there  as  long  as  we  live  and  we 
can  see  it  again  whenever  we  wish  to  "remember"  it. 

To  care  for  such  wonderful  cameras  we  should  follow 
these  rules: 

Eead  only  in  a  good  light.  Eead  large  print.  Let 
the  light  come  over  the  left  shoulder.  •  Sit  well  upright, 


TAKING  PICTURES  103 

and  let  your  book  be  from  12  to  18  inches  from  your  eyes. 
Stop  reading  or  writing  as  soon  as  your  eyes  get  tired 
or  uncomfortable.  Never  rub  your  eyes.  Never  use  soiled 
public  towels  or  public  wash-bowls  for  bathing  eyes  or 
washing  your  face.  Have  your  own  wash-cloth  and  towel 
and  use  the  water  as  it  runs  from  the  faucet.  Don't  keep 
on  trying  to  remove  particles  from  your  eyes.  If  you  fail 
at  first,  get  a  nurse  or  doctor  to  help  you.  Bathe  eyes 
every  morning  with  clean  water.  If  eyes  hurt,  if  things 
are  blurred,  if  you  have  headaches  after  reading,  you 
may  need  glasses.  Go  to  the  oculist.  He  can  tell  exactly 
what  will  help  you. 

THINGS  TO  THINK  ABOUT 

1.  Can  you  tell  how  your  kodak  takes  a  picture?  Can 
you  tell  what  the  parts  of  your  eye  are  for  in  making 
brain  pictures  for  you  ? 

2  What  rules  will  you  make  for  yourself  about  using 
your  eyes  for  reading  or  working? 

3.  What  rules  will  you  make  about  caring  for  your 
eyes  when  you  are  not  using  them  ?  How  many  of  these 
rules  have  you  been  following?  Which  ones  must  you  try 
harder  to  follow? 


CHAPTER  XI 

Two  TELEPHONES 

IT  was  a  dark,  rainy  -Saturday  afternoon.  Paul 
stood  sadly  at  the  window  saying,  "Rain,  rain,  go 
away!  Come  again  another  day!"  but  the  rain  still 
beat  against  the  window  and  the  wind  whistled 
through  the  trees.  Suddenly  he  saw  Father  coming 
up  the  walk.  Rushing  out,  he  seized  his  hand.  "0, 
Daddy,"  he  cried,  "do  play  with  me!  Ruth's  read- 
ing and  my  drum  is  broken,  and  when  I  went  in  where 
Mother  and  Aunt  Louise  are  talking,  Aunt  Louise 
said, ' Little  pitchers  have  big  ears.'  " 


"Well,  well,"  said  Father,  laughing,  "that's  hard 
luck.  Now,  let's  see'?  What  shall  we  do?  I'll  tell 
you — we'll  make  a  play  telephone." 

While  Paul  watched,  his  father  took  from  a  desk 
drawer  a  stiff  card  mailing-tube.  With  his  knife  he 
cut  off  a  ring  from  each  end.  Then  he  cut  two  circles 
of  parchment  from  the  broken  head  of  Paul's  drum 
and  tied  a  circle  over  one  end  of  each  ring.  Last  of 
all,  he  pricked  holes  in  the  centers  of  the  pieces  of 
parchment  and  connected  the  two  by  a  long  string 
with  a  knot  at  each  end.  When  it  was  done,  it  looked 
like  this. 

104 


TWO  TELEPHONES 


105 


Paul  put  one  end  to  his  ear  and  Father  spoke  into 
the  other  end.  They  were  having  a  fine  time  telephon- 
ing to  each  other  when  Ruth  came  in.  "Oh,  what  a 
splendid  telephone !"  she  cried.  "Do  make  me 
one,  Daddy !" 

"I'm  sure  Paul  will  share  his  with  you/'  said 
Father.  "Besides,  Ruth,  you  already  have  a  wonder- 
ful telephone  inside  your  own  head."  Paul  looked 
puzzled,  but  Ruth 
exclaimed,  "Tell  us 
all  about  it!  What 
do  you  mean?" 

Father  pinched 
Ruth's  little  ear. 
"Here,"  he  said, 
"is  the  outside  of  a 
marvelous  tele- 
phone. It  catches 
the  sounds  just  as 
the  cardboard  ring 
of  our  play  tele- 
phone does.  Perhaps  you'd  like  to  see  just  how 
your  telephone  is  made."  He  sketched  for  a  mo- 
ment, then  continued,  "Here  is  what  you  usually  call 
your  ear,  though  it  is  really  the  least  important  part 
of  the  whole  ear.  It  leads  into  this  tube,  where,  as 
you  know,  there  is  ear-wax." 

"What's  ear-wax  for?"  asked  Paul. 

"It  is  to  keep  insects  and  dirt  out  of  your  tele- 
phone. When  you  wash,  don't  try  to  dig  way  in  and 
get  out  all  the  wax,  for  it  is  very  useful.  At  the  end 


TUBE 


106  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

of  the  tube  is  a  drum-head  stretched  across,  just  like 
our  play  telephone." 

"Is  there  a  string  fast  to  it?"  inquired  Paul. 

' '  No, ' '  said  Father.  l '  Instead  there  are  three  tiny 
bones.  Still  deeper  in,  there  are  winding  tubes.  The 
nerve  is  like  our  string.  It  runs  from  the  tubes  to  the 
brain,  where  we  hear  and  understand." 

Paul  puckered  his  forehead.  "But,  Daddy,"  he 
said,  "I  don't  see  what  makes  sound." 

"Listen  a  moment,  Paul,"  his  father  answered. 
"What  do  you  hear?" 

"Why,  I  hear  the  wind  roaring  outside." 

Father  picked  up  the  remains  of  the  cardboard 
tube  and  blew  through  it.  "And  what  do  you 
hear  now?" 

"I  hear  your  breath  coming  out  of  the  tube.  It 
sounds  like  the  wind. " 

' '  That 's  it, ' '  said  Father.  ' '  Every  sound  is  caused 
by  moving  air.  Air  moves  in  waves  just  as  water  does 
Look  at  the  picture  again.  Your  outside  ear  catches 
the  air- waves  and  they  go  through  the  tube  to  the  ear- 
drum. As  they  hit  the  drum  it  shakes  and  sets  the 
tiny  bones  quivering.  These  make  the  tubes  quiver 
and  then  the  nerve  attached  to  the  tubes  carries  the 
message  to  the  brain  and  we  hear." 

"Why  is  it,  Daddy,"  said  Ruth,  "that  different 
sorts  of  animals  have  such  different  kinds  of  ears?" 

"Because,  Ruthie,  Mother  Nature  gives  each  of 
her  children  just  what  he  needs.  Now  here  are  two 
photographs  that  my  friend,  Mr.  Willis,  brought  back 


TWO  TELEPHONES  107 

from  Africa.  This  is  a  reed-buck.  He  lives  among 
the  reeds  on  the  banks  of  the  African  rivers." 

"My,  what  long  ears !"  cried  Paul. 

"Yes,"  said  Father,  "the  reeds  prevent  his  seeing 
his  enemies,  so  he  has  to  depend  on  his  ears  to  save 
him.  They  are  long,  so  as  to  catch  every  sound-wave. ' ' 

"And  what's  this  other  animal?"  asked  Ruth. 
"It  looks  like  a  sheep." 


"It  is,"  replied  her  Father.  "It's  a  wild  sheep 
that  lives  in  Central  Africa.  See  how  small  its  ears 
are.  That  is  because  it  lives  on  the  plains  where  no 
enemy  can  creep  up  and  surprise  it.  It  can  see  and 
smell  anyone  coming  a  long  way  off  and  has  no  need 
of  specially  sharp  ears." 

"Daddy,  what  makes  people  deaf?"  asked  Ruth. 

"Many  things.  In  the  first  place,  things  some- 
times get  into  the  tube  and  stop  it  up.  "When  I  was 
about  Paul's  age,  I  saw  a  Chinese  magician  put  a 


108  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

silver  dollar  into  his  ear,  say  'Hokus-pokus'  and  pull 
it  out  of  his  mouth.  As  soon  as  I  got  home  I  tried  to 
show  my  little  sister  how  he  did  it.  As  I  had  no  dollar, 
I  put  a  bean  in  my  ear,  but  when  I  said '  Hokus-pokus, ' 
the  bean  didn't  budge." 

"And  then  what  happened?"  asked  Paul. 

"Why,  then  I  tried  to  take  the  bean  out,  but  it 
wouldn't  come.  I  ran  crying  to  my  Mother  and  she 
took  me  to  the  doctor.  Remember,  children,  never  to 
try  to  dig  out  anything  that  is  fast  in  your  ear — let 
the  doctor  do  it.  He  took  a  long  instrument  and 
picked  the  bean  out — but  I  never  played  magi- 
cian again." 

"Last  winter,"  said  Ruth,  "I  had  a  cold  in  my 
head  and  it  made  me  deaf.  Why  was  that  ? ' ' 

"Deafness  is  more  often  caused  by  colds  than  in 
any  other  way,"  said  Father.  "You  see,  here  inside 
the  ear,  a  tube  leads  down  into  the  throat.  When 
you  have  a  cold,  the  soreness  from  the  throat  goes 
up  this  tube  and  all  the  inside  of  the  ear  gets  sore. 
Sometimes  an  abscess  forms  and  breaks  through  the 
ear-drum.  People  who  are  continually  having  colds 
almost  always  end  by  losing  their  hearing." 

"Jennie  Allen  had  to  sit  up  front,  last  year,  be- 
cause she  couldn't  hear  what  the  teacher  said,"  said 
Ruth,  "but  this  year  she  had  her  adenoids  taken  out 
and  now  she  can  hear  everything." 

"Yes,"  said  Father,  "adenoids  or  too  large  tonsils 
or  anything  wrong  with  the  throat  will  make  us  more 
or  less  deaf." 

' '  I  know  something  else,  too, ' '  put  in  Paul.    ' '  Yes- 


TWO  TELEPHONES 


109 


terday  Sam  Smith  came  up  back  of  Tom  Fuller  and 
yelled  in  his  ear  to  see  him  jump.  Teacher  scolded 
Sam.  She  said  he  might  have  made  Tom  deaf." 

"So  he  might  have,"  Father  agreed.  " Don't  ever 
scream  or  blow  into  anyone's  ears,  or  ever  box  or  pull 
the  ears — you  may  break  the  drum." 

"Tom  has  ears  that  make  you  want  to  pull  them, 
though,"  said  Paul.  "They  stick  straight  out,  just 
like  sugar-bowl  handles." 

"Perhaps  Tom  was  born  that  way,"  replied 
Father,  "but  children  often  put  their  ears  out  of 


shape.  Hand  me  that  photograph-album,  please, 
Ruth.  Now  here  are  a  boy  and  girl  that  I  used  to 
know.  What  makes  their  ears  stick  out  sol" 

"Why,"  said  Ruth,  "his  cap  is  dragged  down 
until  his  ears  just  have  to  stick  out,  and  her  hat- 
ribbons  are  tied  behind  hert  ears  so  it  makes  them 
bend  way  forward.  Do  you  know,  when  baby  lies  on 
his  side  Aunt  Louise  always  looks  to  see  if  his  ears  are 
flat.  She  says  she  doesn't  want  a  boy  with  ears 
like  sails." 

"I  saw  two  deaf  and  dumb  people  on  the  car 


110 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


TWO  TELEPHONES  111 

once,"  said  Paul.  "They  were  making  signs  with 
their  hands  and  laughing." 

"  Yes,  and  many  deaf  children  are  taught  to  talk," 
said  Father.  "Miss  Lyon,  who  teaches  in  the  school 
for  deaf  mutes,  gave  me  this  picture  of  herself  and 
one  of  her  little  pupils.  He  watches  her  lips  to  see 
how  she  forms  the  words  and  then  looks  in  the  mirror 
to  see  whether  he  is  placing  his  lips  the  same  way." 

"Why  does  he  put  his  hand  on  her  throat?" 
asked  Paul. 

"To  feel  just  how  it  moves  when  she  speaks.  But 
I  am  afraid  the  poor  little  boy  will  never  speak  just  as 
other  people  do,  for  most  deaf  people  always  have  a 
queer  sort  of  voice.  I  suppose  it  is  because  they  can't 
hear  themselves." 

"Let's  try  our  ears  and  see  how  sharp  they  are, 
Daddy,"  suggested  Ruth.  So  she  and  Paul  stood  up 
and  Father  held  his  watch  away  across  the  room  to 
the  left  of  them.  He  slowly  walked  nearer  and  nearer. 
At  last  Paul  cried,  "Now  I  can  hear  it!"  and  a  mo- 
ment later  Ruth  said,  "I  hear  it,  too." 

"Your  left  ears,"  said  Father,  "are  pretty  good. 
Paul  can  hear  the  watch  56  inches  away  and  Ruth 
52.  If  you  had  been  unable  to  hear  it  50  inches  away, 
I  should  have  had  to  take  you  to  the  doctor  and  have 
him  examine  your  ears."  Then  lie  tried  their  right 
ears  in  the  same  way  and  pronounced  them  all  right. 

"Rover  can  hear  lots  further  than  I  can,"  said 
Paul.  "Yesterday,  Mother  called  me  and  I  never 
heard  her  at  all,  but  Rover  did,  and  pricked  up  his 
ears  and  ran  home." 


in  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

" Maybe,"  said  Father,  "that  was  because  you 
were  busy  playing  and  didn't  listen  very  hard.  You 
know  blind  people  have  very  sharp  ears,  but  it's  only 
because  they  listen  to  every  sound.  Most  of  us  don't 
half  use  our  ears." 

"Well,  I  don't  want  to  be  blind  so  as  to  learn 
to  use  my  ears, ' '  said  Ruth.  "  I  'm  going  to  begin  right 
now  to  practise  listening." 

Just  then  the  sun  came  out  and  a  robin  on  the  lawn 
broke  into  a  gay,  "Cheer-up!  Cheer-up!  "  "Good 
for  you,  Ruthie!"  said  Father  "Use  your  telephone 
well  and  you'll  be  surprised  how  many  pleasant 
sounds  it  will  bring  to  you.  Let's  go  out  on  the  porch 
and  hear  what  Mr.  Robin  is  singing  about." 

THINGS  TO  DO 

Make  a  toy  telephone  like  Paul's.  If  you  have  not  a 
paper  mailing  tube  and  parchment,  you  can  still  make  a 
telephone  out  of  two  baking  powder  cans  in  the  same  way. 
Hold  the  cans  far  enough  apart,  so  the  strings  or  wires 
are  very  tight.  Try  talking1  into  the  telephone.  How  far 
off  can  you  hear  with  it?  "What  questions  does  this  game 
make  you  want  to  ask  about  your  toy ? 

Test  your  own  hearing.  Put  a  watch  on  the  table,  then 
get  a  tape  measure  and  measure  off  50  inches  to  the  right 
and  to  the  left  of  the  table.  Stand,  first,  50  inches  to  the 
left  of  the  watch.  Then  move  back  a  little  at  a  time.  Stop 
when  you  can't  hear  the  watch.  Then  move  towards  it- 
till  you  just  can  hear  it.  How  far  are  you  from  the  50- 
inch  line?  Then  how  far  can  you  hear  the  ticking?  Try 
the  same  thing  with  the  other  ear  Who  has  the  sharpest 
ears  in  your  room?  Perhaps  the  teacher  will  test  all  the 
children's  hearing  and  reseat  them.  How  could  she 
do  this  ? 


TWO  TELEPHONES  113 

Compare  your  hearing  with  that  of  your  pet  cat,  dog, 
rabbit.  With  that  of  a  horse.  How  could  you  do  it? 
Which  do  you  find  hears  best?  Is  there  any  reason 
for  this! 

THINGS  TO  REMEMBER 

Let  us  try  to  remember  these  important  things  about 
our  ears,  which  will  help  us  to  care  for  them. 

The  outer  ear  is  a  sort  of  sound  collector,  which  gathers 
noises  of  all  kinds  into  a  short  passage.  In  this  passage 
is  ear-wax,  put  there  by  nature,  to  catch  all  sorts  of  injuri- 
ous little  particles.  We  should,  of  course,  not  put  any- 
thing into  this  passage,  nor  try  to  remove  the  wax.  This 
little  passage  has  at  its  end  a  tightly  stretched  skin, 
the  ear-drum. 

Behind  the  drum  is  a  tiny  cavity,  which  has  a  passage 
leading  down  to  the  throat.  Then  there  are  three  very 
small  bones,  that  form  a  bridge  across  this  little  cavity. 
If  you  will  look  at  the  picture  you  will  see  how  they  con- 
nect the  ear-drum  with  the  inside  part  of  the  ear.  This 
inside  part  is  so  important,  and  so  delicate,  that  it  is  pro- 
tected by  heavy  bone.  A  nerve  runs  from  this  inside  part 
to  the  brain.  This  nerve  carries  messages  from  the  ear 
to  the  brain. 

Sounds  are  made  by  air  in  motion.  Air  moves  in 
waves,  as  water  does.  You  may  have  noticed  how  a  loud 
noise  can  make  windows  rattle.  In  the  same  way,  waves 
of  air  enter  the  ear-passage  and  shake  the  drum.  The 
drum  shakes  the  three  tiny  bones.  These  in  turn,  carry 
the  motion  to  the  nerve  we  learned  about.  This  nerve 
carries  the  message  made  by  the  sound-waves  to  the  brain 
and  then  we  say  we  hear.  All  of  this  helps  us  to  know 
how  necessary  it  is  to  take  good  care  of  our  ears. 

We  can  protect  our  hearing  by  doing  these  things. 

Never  put  anything  into  the  ear-passages.  Doctors  or 
nurses  will  do  that,  if  necessary. 
8 


114  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

Avoid  colds  and  sore  throats.  Sore  throats  often  cause 
the  little  passage  between  ear  and  throat  to  get  stopped 
up,  or  diseased;  this  may  lead  to  deafness. 

Protect  your  ears  from  sudden  loud  noises.  Never 
make  loud  noises  by  other  people's  ears. 

If  we  have  adenoids,  be  willing  to  have  them  removed. 
Adenoids  sometimes  stop  up  the  passage  to  the  ear,  and 
cause  deafness. 

THINGS  TO  THINK  ABOUT 

What  pleasures  would  you  miss  if  you  were  deaf !  Is 
hearing  worth  taking  care  of  ? 

Did  you  decide  what  parts  of  the  toy  telephone  helped 
you  to  hear  at  a  distance?  What  parts  of  your  ear  help 
you  to  hear? 

What  causes  the  sounds  that  reach  your  ears! 

What  can  we  do  to  keep  our  hearing  in  perfect 
condition  ? 

How  can  we  tell  if  our  hearing  is  as  good  as  it  should 
be?  What  ought  we  do  if  it  is  not? 


CHAPTER  XII 

TABLEWAKE 

RUTH  's  Father  had  a  way  of  always  knowing  what 
little  girls  like,  and  when,  on  her  tenth  birthday,  she 
found  on  the  breakfast-table  a  little  silver  knife  and 
fork,  all  for  her  very  own,  she  was  delighted.  She 
wanted  to  wash  them  herself,  put  them  carefully  into 
their  box,  and  begged  her  Mother  to  buy  her  some 
silver-polish.  Father,  smiling  at  her  enthusiasm, 
said,  "I'm  glad,  little  girl,  that  you  mean  to  take  such 
good  care  of  my  present,  but  why  don't  you  take  care 
of  the  rest  of  your  tableware1?" 

"Why,  what  do  you  mean,  Daddy?"  exclaimed 
eight-year-old  Paul.  "Ruth  hasn't  any  other 
tableware." 

"Oh  yes,  she  has,  a  good  many  pieces,  and  more 
coming,  too.  You'll  have  thirty-two  before  you  finish, 
Ruth,  if  you  don't  let  them  get  all  cracked  and  dirty 
and  useless.  If  you  lose  your  birthday  present  you 
may  be  able  to  get  some  more  of  the  same  pattern,  but 
if  you  lose  this  other  set,  you'll  never  have  another 
like  it." 

Her  father  laughed  at  Ruth's  puzzled  face,  and 
leading  her  to  the  glass,  gently  opened  her  mouth, 
while  Paul  looked  on  with  deep  interest.  "There, 
children, ' '  he  said,  "  is  a  wonderful  set  of  tools.  Have 
you  ever  seen  Mother  chopping  meat  in  a  bowl,  or 

115 


TABLEWARE 


117 


crushing  bread-crumbs  with  the  rolling-pin?  Well, 
that  is  the  sort  of  work  the  teeth  do.  Run  your  finger 
along  the  edges  and  feel  how  sharp  the  six  front  ones 
are.  They  are  for  biting  and  crushing  the  food.  The 
back  ones,  you  see,  are  broader  and  duller.  They  do 
the  crushing  and  grinding.  Bring  me  your  history 
book,  Ruth.  See,  here  is  a  picture  of  an  Indian  squaw 
grinding  corn.  Do  you  see  how  closely  the  millstones 
fit  together.  If  they  did  not,  the  corn  would  not  be 


ground  fine.  Just  so  the  upper  and  lower  teeth  are 
made  to  fit  each  other.  If  they  are  crooked,  or  if 
the  upper  teeth  do  not  fit  over  the  lower  ones,  as  they 
ought,  the  cutting  and  grinding  will  not  be  properly 
done.  Here  is  a  picture  that  Dr.  Clarke  gave  me  yes- 
terday. It  shows  how  ugly  an  overlapping  jaw  makes 
the  face  look.  This  pretty  little  girl's  looks  were 
spoiled  because  her  teeth  were  not  straightened  and 
attended  to  in  time.  Then,  too,  bad  teeth  mean  bad 
digestion.  It  takes  the  squaw  a  long  time  to  grind 
the  corn.  In  the  same  way,  if  our  teeth  do  not  cut  and 


118 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


grind  our  food  until  it  is  fine,   we  cannot  digest 
it  easily." 

"But,  Daddy,"  objected  Ruth,  "the  hens  never 
chew  the  corn.  They  just  gobble  it  down  whole." 

"So  they  do ;  but  the  hen  has  a  nice  little  grinding- 
mill  made  of  stones  in  her  gizzard.  If  you  had  teeth 
in  your  stomach,  you  could  swallow  your  breakfast 
whole,  too." 

While  his  father  had  been  talking,  Paul  had  been 
examining  Ruth's  new  fork.  "See,  Daddy,  it  says 
'  Sterling. '  What  does  that  mean  ? ' ' 

"It  means  that  the  fork  is  made  of  solid  silver. 
See,  here  is  a  spoon  that  is  plated. 
Do  you  see  how,  on  the  back,  it 
has  worn  off  and  shows  the  cheap 
metal  underneath?" 

"Are  our  teeth  solid?" 
"No,  your  teeth  are  ' plated.' 
I'll  draw  you  a  picture  of  what 
your  tooth  would  look  like  if  it 
wrere  cut  in  two.  Away  inside  is  a 
soft  pulp  with  a  nerve  lying  in  it. 
Outside  that  is  some  harder, 
tougher  material  called  ' dentine,'  and  the  whole  ex- 
posed surface  is  covered  with  hard,  shiny,  white 
enamel.  The  enamel  is  so  hard  that  it  won't  wear  off, 
like  the  silver,  from  being  used — in  fact,  chewing  on 
crusts  and  hard  food  is  good  exercise  for  teeth — but 
it  chips  easily.  That's  why  you  should  not  crack 
nuts  or  bite  wire  or  nails  with  the  teeth. 

"Now,  if  food  is  left  between  the  teeth,  it  decays 


TABLEWARE  119 

and  forms  an  acid  which  eats  through  the  enamel 
and  makes  a  hole.  The  hole  goes  deeper  and  deeper 
through  the  dentine  until  it  gets  near  the  nerve,  and 
then  someone  has  an  awful  toothache. " 

"Yes,"  said  Ruth,  "I  remember  I  had  a  hole  in 
my  tooth  once  and  it  hurt  dreadfully  to  bite  on  it." 

"Of  course  it  did,"  her  Father  replied.  "That 
is  why  poor  teeth  lead  to  indigestion.  The  food 
doesn't  get  properly  chewed." 

"But,  Daddy,  the  first  teeth  that  are  going  to 
drop  out  anyhow  don't  need  to  be  filled,  do  they!" 
protested  Paul.  "It  seems  so  silly  to  fill  them  and 
then  pull  them  out." 

Mr.  Weston  pointed  across  the  street  to  where  a 
house  was  being  built.  All  around  it  was  a  scaffold- 
ing. "Do  you  think  it  silly,  Paul,  to  build  all  that 
scaffolding  and  then,  when  the  house  is  done,  pull 
it  down?" 

"Of  course  not,  Daddy.  They  have  to  have  it  to 
build  the  house." 

"Well,  it's  just  so  with  the  first  teeth;  they  are 
like  a  scaffolding  to  protect  and  prepare  for  the  other 
teeth.  When  the  house  is  completed,  the  scaffolding- 
is  torn  down.  So,  when  the  second  teeth  are  all  fin- 
ished and  ready  for  use,  the  first  ones  drop  out.  The 
second  ones  come  pushing  up  under  the  first  ones, 
something  like  this." 

Ruth  and  Paul  watched  while  their  Father  rapidly 
sketched  this  picture  of  the  teeth.  "There,"  he  said, 
"if  you  could  look  right  through  your  gums,  you 


120  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

could  see  your  second  teeth  lying  in  the  gums,  under 
the  roots  of  the  'baby'  teeth.  Don't  you  see,  that  if 
the  baby  tooth  is  all  decayed,  the  poison  from  it  will 
make  the  gums  unhealthy,  and  as  soon  as  the  second 

teeth  come  in,  they  will 
be  liable  to  decay,  too?" 
The  children  nodded 
assent. 

"Do  you  remember," 
their  Father  continued, 
"the  old  willow- tree 
with  the  big  hole  in  if? 
Yesterday  I  saw  a  '  tree- 
dentist.'  He  is  going  to 
clean  out  the  hole,  fill  it 
with  cement,  and  he  says  that  the  old  tree  will  be 
good  for  another  fifty  years.  It's  the  same  way  with 
teeth — to  save  them,  they  must  be  filled  before  it  is 
too  late." 

'  *  I  remember  the  tree, ' '  said  Ruth.  ' '  Paul  wanted 
to  play  Indian  in  the  hole  one  day,  but  I  wouldn't 
because  the  decayed  stuff  smelled  so  queer." 

"Yes,  our  noses  are  safe  guides  when  they  tell 
us  to  beware.  A  queer,  disagreeable  smell  always 
means  'Take  care.'  Decayed  stuff  smells  bad  be- 
cause it  is  poisonous.  The  poison  from  a  decayed 
tooth  goes  all  through  the  blood  and  may  cause  sores, 
inflammation,  and  all  kinds  of  trouble  all  over  the 
body.  The  doctors  think  now  that  rheumatism  and 
many  other  diseases  are  caused  or  made  worse  by 
decayed  teeth." 


TABLEWARE 


4 'But  I  hate  to  go  to  the  dentist,"  sighed  Paul. 

"Well,  then/'  said  his  Father,  "keep  your  tools 
clean.  Brush  them  the  first  thing  every  morning, 
after  every  meal,  and  the  last  thing  at  night.  After 
eating,  see  that  no  food  is  left  between  the  teeth,  and 
if  it  is,  take  it  out  with 
dental  floss  or  a  small  elastic 
band.  Polish  your  teeth 
with  tooth-powder.  You  are 
taken  to  the  dentist  twice 
a  year,  so  that  he  can  ex- 
amine the  teeth  and  make 
sure  that  they  are  all  right. 
And  don't  neglect  your  tooth- 
brush. Always  rinse  it  in 
clean  water  and  sprinkle  a 
little  salt  on  it  when  you 
put  it  away.  Decay  is  an- 
other way  of  spelling  dirt." 

"Yes;"  said  Ruth,  "I 
guess  we'd  be  pretty  dis- 
gusted if  the  knives  at  din- 
ner were  all  greasy  and 
sticky  from  breakfast, 
wouldn't  we  f" 


.. 


:And  yet,"  Father  replied,  " I'd  rather  put  a 
dirty  fork  into  my  mouth  three  times  a  day  than  to 
have  thirty-two  dirty  teeth  in  it  all  the  time. ' ' 

On  her  next  birthday,  Father  gave  Ruth  a  spoon  to 
match  her  knife  and  fork,  and  he  complimented  her 
on  the  care  she  gave  to  all  her  tableware. 


122  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

THINGS  TO  DO 

Get  a  mirror  and  find  out  how  many  different  kinds  of 
teeth  you  have  !  How  many  of  each  have  you  ! 

Get  a  piece  of  bread  and  a  piece  of  hard  candy.  Which 
teeth  do  you  use  to  bite  the  bread?  To  crack  oft'  a  piece 
of  the  candy!  To  chew  what  you  have  bitten!  Find  out 
how  the  shape  of  each  tooth  helps  it  to  do  its  work.  You 
might  like  to  find  out  if  your  cat  or  dog,  pony  or  rabbit, 
have  the  same  kinds  of  teeth  and  use  them  the  same  way. 
Do  your  chickens  have  teeth!  Do  they  need  them! 

Perhaps  your  teacher  will  help  you  to  make  these 
tests.  Gather  together  some  hydrochloric  acid,  a  saucer, 
and  some  teeth  from  a  dentist.  Boil  the  teeth  for  a  half 
hour  in  water  and  soda  before  using  them.  Now  put  a 
little  acid  on  the  shining  enamel  of  the  tooth.  Crack  open 
a  tooth,  and  put  some  acid  on  the  cracked  part.  Find  the 
dentine  and  the  pulp  cavity.  What  has  the  acid  done! 
What  does  this  tell  you  about  the  use  of  enamel! 

Get  a  sweet  apple,  a  rotten  apple,  and  some  blue  lit- 
mus paper.  Put  a  corner  of  the  blue  paper  into  the  acid 
you  have  just  used  and  observe  the  color.  This  is  always 
a  sign  that  acid  is  present.  Now  put  a  fresh  piece  of  blue 
paper  on  the  sweet  pulp  of  the  good  apple.  Next  put 
another  piece  of  blue  litmus  paper  on  the  scraped  rotten 
part  of  the  apple.  Which  shows  most  acid!  This  experi- 
ment shows  how  sweet  foods  may  become  acid  when  they 
spoil.  Could  foods  stay  any  place  in  the  mouth  long 
enough  to  spoil! 

If  your  teacher  can  get  enough  of  the  blue  litmus  paper, 
she  will  give  you  a  piece  to  take  home.  If  so,  rub  it  on 
your  teeth  before  you  brush  them  in  the  morning.  What 
does  the  experiment  show!  Why  don't  we  want  acid,  or 
germs  that  cause  acid,  in  the  mouth ! 

Form  a  tooth-brush  club  in  your  room.  Have  two 
teams  and  run  a  race  to  see  which  can  have  the  most  mem- 


TABLEWARE  123 

bers  scrubbing  night  and  morning  for  a  week.  Learn  the 
correct  way  to  scrub.  Keep  a  score  on  the  board.  See 
which  team  can  get  the  best  monthly  average. 

THINGS  TO  BEMEMBEB 

We  have  teeth  for  biting  and  teeth  for  chewing,  suited 
by  their  shape  and  location  for  their  work  of  getting  food 
into  fine  particles  before  we  swallow  it.  To  do  this  work 
well,  the  upper  and  lower  teeth  must  fit  perfectly,  one  set 
over  the  other,  like  two  millstones,  or  the  halves  of  a  pair 
of  scissors.  If  the  teeth  do  not  fit  so,  they  should  be 
straightened  by  the  dentist.  Crooked  teeth  are  not  only 
ugly,  but  they  prevent  good  chewing. 

Teeth  are  covered  with  smooth,  shining,  protecting 
enamel.  The  softer  dentine  is  inside.  Within  the  center 
of  the  tooth  is  a  cavity  containing  some  little  blood-vessels 
and  a  nerve,  to  feed  and  keep  the  tooth  alive.  As  long  as 
the  enamel  is  uncracked,  the  inside  of  the  tooth  is  safe 
from  decay.  As  soon  as  any  holes  come  in  the  outside 
of  the  tooth,  they  should  be  filled.  Even  the  baby-teeth 
should  be  filled. 

The  baby-teeth  are  like  guide-posts  to  show  the  per- 
manent teeth  where  to  come  in.  If  these  baby-teeth  are 
not  taken  care  of  the  permanent  teeth  will  come  in  crooked 
or  out  of  place.  They  may  even  become  decayed  from 
contact  with  the  cavities  left  by  the  bad  baby-teeth. 

Particles  of  food  will  form  acids  in  the  mouth  if  they 
are  allowed  to  stick  in  between  the  teeth.  These  acids 
will  attack  the  teeth,  making  holes  in  the  dentine  and 
exposing  the  nerve.  This  means  decayed  teeth,  toothache, 
sickness.  Follow  these  rules  to  have  sound  teeth  all 
your  life. 

1.  Never  bite  very  hard  things.    You  may  crack  the 
enamel. 

2.  Eat  vegetables,   fruits,   and   the   crusty   parts   of 


124  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

bread,  and  chew  well.    Drink  plenty  of  milk.    These  foods 
give  the  materials  for  building  strong,  white  teeth. 

3.  Clean  your  teeth  at  least  twice  a  day.    Never  forget 
to  clean  them  before  bed  and  before  breakfast.    Use  dental 
floss  to  get  particles  from  between  the  teeth. 

4.  Learn  to  brush  with  a  rotary  motion.    Your  teacher 
or  dentist  will  show  you  how. 

5.  Keep  the  toothbrush  clean  by  rinsing  after  each 
using,  and  rubbing  salt  in  it  several  times  a  week.    Never 
use  another's  brush,  or  lend  yours. 

6.  Go  to  a  dentist  at  least  two  times  a  year.    He  will 
prevent  the  big  cavities,  and  save  you  many  aches. 

7.  Remember  that  a  clean  tooth  never  decays. 

THINGS  TO  THINK  ABOUT 

What  reasons  are  there  for  having  our  teeth 
straightened  when  they  are  crooked  ? 

What  reasons  are  there  for  not  using  our  teeth  as 
tools  1 

What  good  is  the  nerve  in  the  tooth!  When  does  it 
hurt  us  ? 

Why  are  dentists  always  telling  us  to  care  for  the 
baby-teeth? 

What  rules  can  we  follow  to  keep  our  teeth  in  per- 
fect condition? 


CHAPTER  XIII 
CAKE  OF  THE  HAIK 

"WELL,  well/'  said  Mr.  Weston,  looking  over 
Paul's  shoulder,  "where  did  you  find  that  old 
French  book?" 

"In  the  garret,"  answered  Paul,  "and  the  pic- 
tures are  so  queer.  What  on  earth  has  this  lady  got 
on  her  head?" 


"That,"  laughed  Mr.  Weston,  "is  what  elegant 
hairdressers,  more  than  a  hundred  years  ago,  used  to 
call  a  *  Macaroni  Roll!'  You  remember  that  Yankee 
Doodle '  stuck  a  feather  in  his  cap  and  called  it  "maea- 

125 


126  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

roni"  '  ?  Well,  people  used  to  use  the  word  'macaroni' 
to  mean  fashionable  or  dandified,  and  so  this  stylish 
hairdress  got  its  name." 

"How  did  they  fix  it  that  way  ?"  asked  Ruth,  who 
had  just  come  in  from  school  and  was  hanging  over 
Paul's  shoulder. 

"Why,"  said  her  Father,  "they  took  a  great 
wad  of  tow  or  horse-hair  and  brushed  the  lady's  hair 
up  over  it.  Then  they  greased  it,  covered  it  with 
white  powder  and  trimmed  it  with  ribbons,  feathers 
and  false  curls.  All  this  took  a  long  time,  so  a  lady 
often  kept  her  hair  up  for  two  or  three  weeks,  before 
she  had  it  combed  and  done  up  again.  I've  read  that 
ladies  actually  used  to  carry  long,  carved  forks  to 
scratch  their  heads." 

"I  should  think  they  would  have  needed  them," 
said  Ruth. 

"You  see,"  continued  Father,  "this  fine  lady  is 
being  carried  in  a  sedan-chair,  which  was  the  fashion 
in  those  days,  and  her  hair  is  built  up  so  high  that  a 
hole  has  been  made  in  the  chair-roof  to  let  it  through. ' ' 

"Did  all  ladies  wear  those  awful  things?"  asked 
Euth. 

"Yes,  and  even  little  girls.  In  1770  there  lived 
a  little  twelve-year-old  American  girl  named  Anna 
Green  Winslow.  When  her '  roll '  came  home  from  the 
hairdresser,  she  wrote  to  her  mother,  'Aunt  Storer 
said  it  ought  to  be  made  less,  Aunt  Deming  said  it 
ought  not  to  be  made  at  all.  It  makes  my  head  itch 
and  ache  and  burn  like  anything,  Mama.  When  it 
first  came  home,  Aunt  put  it  on  and  my  new  cap  upon 


CARE  OF  THE  HAIR  127 

it.  She  took  her  apron  and  measured  me,  and  from 
the  roots  of  my  hair  on  my  forehead  to  the  top  of  my 
notions,  I  measured  above  an  inch  longer  than  I 
did  from  the  roots  of  my  hair  to  the  end  of  my  chin.'  " 

"I  should  think  it  would  have  made  her  head 
itch  and  ache,"  said  Ruth. 

"Why  did  she  wear  it,  then?"  said  Paul.  "Boys 
ar en 't  so  silly.  Men  never  wore  false  hair,  did  they  ? ' ' 

' '  Indeed  they  did, ' '  said  Father.  ' '  All  the  gentle- 
men used  to  wear  wigs.  Why,  one  New  England  gen- 
tleman, who  had  three  little  boys,  seven,  nine  and 
eleven  years  old,  bought  a  $45  wig  for  each  of  them. 
It  got  to  be  so  bad  that  the  ministers  preached  ser- 
mons telling  the  men  how  silly  it  was,  but  it  was  no 
use.  The  ministers  themselves  took  to  wearing  wigs, 
and  to  this  day,  the  judges  and  lawyers  in  England 
all  wear  wigs.  So  you  see,  Paul,  that  men  can  be  just 
as  silly  as  women  in  following  the  fashion." 

"I'm  glad,"  said  Paul,  very  positively,  "that  I 
didn't  live  in  such  silly  times." 

"Well,"  remarked  Ruth,  "some  folks  are  pretty 
foolish  nowadays.  Dorothy  Frost  hates  straight  hair. 
So  she  uses  her  mother's  curling-irons  and  frizzes  her 
hair  all  up.  But  it's  making  the  hair  all  dry,  and  it's 
breaking  off,  so  pretty  soon  she  won't  have  any  left." 

Paul  had  pulled  one  of  his  shining,  chestnut 
hairs.  "Look,  Daddy,"  he  cried,  "it  came  out  root 
and  all." 

"No,"  said  Mr.  Weston,  "that  swollen  part  at  the 
end  of  the  hair  isn't  really  the  root,  or  no  new  hair 
could  grow  in  where  this  one  was  pulled  out.  The 


128 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


hair  has  no  real  root.  It  grows  like  this.  Deep  in  the 
skin  of  the  head  are  a  lot  of  tiny  knobs — about  a 
thousand  on  every  square  inch.  From  each  of  these 
knobs  grows  a  hair.  The  end  of  the  hair  is  cup- 
shaped,  so  as  to  fit  over  the  little  knob.  Each  hair 

has  a  little  bag  of  oil  to  keep 
it  smooth  and  shiny  and  a 
muscle  to  move  it." 

"Oh,  yes,"  cried  Ruth, 
"when  Pussy  is  angry  with 
Rover,  the  hairs  on  her  back 
and  tail  stand  straight  out." 
"Yes,"  said  Father,  "and 
when  you  are  cold,  you  can 
often  see  the  hairs  stand  up 
on  your  arms  and  legs — we 
call  it  ' goose-flesh.'  " 

"What    makes    hair    dif- 
ferent colors'?"  asked  Paul. 
"The  color,"  his  Father  answered,  "depends  on 
the  amount  of  dyestuff  inside  the  hair  itself.    As  we 
grow  old,  or  sometimes  if  we  are  not  well,  the  dye- 
stuff  grows  less  and  our  hair  turns  gray  or  white." 

"Why  is  some  hair  curly  and  some  not?"  Ruth 
looked  rather  sadly  at  her  own  straight,  "bobbed" 
hair  as  she  spoke. 

"The  curliness,"  said  Father,  "is  caused  by  each 
hair  being  somewhat  flat.    You  have  watched  a  car- 
penter planing  wood,  haven't  you?    And  you  know 
that  the  long,  flat  shavings  twist  up  into  curls?" 
"Oh,  yes,"  said  Ruth,  "I  stuck  some  in  my  hair 


CARE  OF  THE  HAIR 

the  other  day  and  we  played  Goldilocks  and  the  Three 
Bears,  and  I  was  Goldilocks." 

"And,"  continued  Father,  "you  know  that  long, 
round  pieces  of  wood  are  just  sticks  and  stay  straight. 
That  is  the  way  with  the  hair — hairs  that  are  round 
are  straight,  but  the  rather  flatter  hairs  curl  up  just 
like  shavings.  That  is  why  Mother  's  hair  is  all  wavy 
ringlets,  while  the  Chinaman  who  does  up  my  collars 
has  straight  hair,  and  the  colored  cook  at  the  Frosts' 
has  kinky  hair." 

"Isn't  it  funny,"  mused  Paul,  "how  people  in  dif- 
ferent countries  grow  different!" 

'  '  In  the  fairy  tales, ' '  said  Euth, ' '  the  princesses  all 
have  beautiful,  long,  curly  hair,  and  it's  usually 
golden.  I  never  read  a  story  in  my  life  where  the 
heroine  had  short,  straight  hair  like  mine.  Don't  you 
remember  'Eapunzel  '  in  Grimm's  Fairy  Tales  ?  She 
had  wonderful  golden  hair,  so  long  that  when  the 
Prince  called,  'Eapunzel,  Eapunzel,  let  down  your 
hair !'  she  used  to  let  it  down  from  her  tower  window, 
and  the  Prince  climbed  up  as  if  it  were  a  ladder." 

"Yes,"  chimed  in  Paul,  "and  there  was  'The  Fair 
One  with  the  Golden  Locks.'  " 

' '  And  there  was '  Caporushes, '  ' '  said  Euth.  ' '  She 
made  herself  a  cap  out  of  rushes,  so  people  couldn't 
see  her  '  beautiful  golden  hair  that  was  all  set  with 
milk-white  pearls,'  and  would  think  she  was  just  a 
kitchen  maid." 

"Women  aren't  the  only  ones  who  have  long  hair, ' ' 
said  Paul.  "Don't  you  remember  last  week  in  Sun- 


130  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

day  School,  Buth,  Mr.  Maxwell  told  us  about  Sam- 
son? His  hair  had  never  been  cut — never  in  his 
life — until  that  wicked  Delilah  cut  it  all  off  and  made 
him  lose  all  his  strength." 

"Yes,"  agreed  Father,  "all  the  books  since  books 
were  first  made  praise  long,  thick  hair.  The  Apostle 
Paul,  in  one  of  his  letters,  wrote,  'If  a  woman  have 
long  hair  it  is  a  glory  to  her. ' 

"I  think  Portia's  hair  must  have  been  lovely," 
said  Ruth.  "We've  been  reading  'The  Merchant  of 
Venice'  in  Lamb's  Tales,  and  Shakespeare  says, 

'her  sunny  locks 

Hung  on  her  temples  like  a  golden  fleece.' 
All  the  noblemen  came  to  Belmont  to  see  her,  just 
as  the  Argonauts  went  to  Colchis  to  find  the  Golden 
Fleece.  Well,"  with  a  sigh,  "I  can't  have  curls, 
but  I  mean  to  have  nice  hair,  anyway.  Why  does 
hair  fallout,  Daddy?" 

Father  drew  a  sketch.  "Now  here,"  he  said,  "is 
the  old  hair  being  pushed  out  by  a  short  new  hair 
that  is  growing  under  it.  New  hairs  push  out  the  old 
ones  just  as  the  second  teeth  grow  under  the  first 
ones  and  loosen  them  and  at  last  push  them  out.  But 
sometimes  when  hair  falls  out,  it  is  because  the  hair 
isn't  getting  proper  food." 

"Food?"  said  Paul.  "I  didn't  know  the  hair  had 
to  eat." 

"Well,  it  doesn't  eat  as  you  do,  with  a  set  of  teeth, 
but  it  eats  as  the  grass  and  trees  eat.  Here  in  the 
picture  are  tiny  tubes  that  carry  the  blood  to  the  knob 


CARE  OF  THE  HAIR 


131 


where  the  hair  grows.    The  hair  drinks  up  food  from 
the  blood  just  as  plants  do  from  the  ground." 

"But  why  do  some  people  have  such  nice  hair  and 
other  people  have  such  stringy,  ugly  hairu?"  asked 
Paul. 

"For  the  same  reason  that  some  plants  are  so 
much  finer  and  taller  than  others,"  said  Mother. 
"Last  spring  I  planted  my 
pansies  in  good  soil  where 
they  would  get  plenty  of  food. 
I  watered  them,  I  picked  all 
the  stones  and  weeds  out  of 
the  bed,  and  see  how  lovely 
the  pansy-bed  is  now.  Just 
so  with  the  hair — it  must  be 
fed  with  plenty  of  good,  red 
blood.  If  we  want  nice  hair, 
we  must  keep  our  whole 
bodies  healthy." 

"Aunt  Louise  told  me," 
said  Ruth,  "that  when  she  had 
typhoid  fever,  all  her  hair  fell  out." 

"Yes,"  said  Father,  "sickness  prevents  the  hair 
from  being  rightly  fed.  Brushing  the  scalp  makes 
the  blood  come  to  the  skin  and  feed  the  hair.  The 
hair  needs  a  good  brushing  morning  and  night." 

"My  pansies,"  continued  Mother,  "would  not 
have  grown  on  the  ash-heap  and  hair  can't  grow  well 
in  a  scalp  that  is  all  covered  with  rubbish.  You  see, 
the  skin  peels  off  into  flakes  and  dirt  blows  into  the 
scalp  and  the  oil  from  the  little  oil-bags  mixes  the 


132  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

dry  skin  and  dirt  into  a  mess  that  needs  to  be  brushed 
off  every  day  and  washed  away  very  often. ' ' 

"How  often?"  asked  Paul. 

"That  depends,"  said  Mother,  "on  whether  you 
live  in  the  clean  country  and  don't  do  dirty  work  and 
have  thick  hair  that  keeps  the  dirt  off  your  scalp  and 
whether  your  hair  isn't  very  oily.  If  so,  a  washing 
every  two  or  three  weeks  will  do,  but  if  you  live  in  the 
city  and  work  in  a  dirty  factory  you  may  have  to 
wash  it  every  week.  If  you  are  a  boy,  so  that  you  can 
wash  and  dry  it  quickly,  you  can  wash  it  every  day. ' ' 

"I  was  at  Lucy  Hackett's  yesterday,"  said  Ruth, 
"when  she  was  washing  her  head.  She  took  a  bar 
of  kitchen  soap  and  rubbed  it  all  over  her  hair  and 
then  held  her  head  under  the  cold-water  faucet.  The 
soap  stuck  to  her  hair  dreadfully." 

"I  should  think  it  would, "" said  Mother.  "The 
right  way  is  to  make  a  thick  soapsuds  with  pure  white 
soap  and  warm  water.  Dip  the  hair  and  scalp  in  and 
rub  the  scalp  with  your  fingers  or  a  clean  brush,  then 
rinse  your  head  and  hair  with  warm  water  until  all 
the  soap  is  out,  pour  a  glass  of  cold  water  on  your 
scalp  to  prevent  your  taking  cold  and  rub  the  head 
perfectly  dry  with  two  or  three  towels." 

"I  caught  an  awful  cold  last  winter  going  out  be- 
fore my  hair  was  dry, ' '  said  Ruth. 

"I  remember  that  you  did,"  said  Father.  "And 
another  thing  that  you  children  should  remember  is 
never  to  put  on  anyone  else's  hat  or  use  anyone  else's 
brush  and  comb.  A  great  many  people  have  dandruff 
or  even  worse  diseases  of  the  head,  and  some  careless, 


CARE  OF  THE  HAIR 


133 


dirty  people  have  tiny  insects  in  their  heads.  I  'm  sure 
you  don't  want  to  get  anything  like  that." 

"Goodness,  no!"  exclaimed  Ruth. 

" Perhaps,"  said  Father,  after  stepping  into  the 
next  room,  " you'd  like  to  see  some  old  pictures  of  me. 
When  I  was  little,  I  just  hated  to  brush  my  hair, 
so  one  day,  when  my  hair  was  all  tousled,  my  father 
took  me  to  the  photographer.  I  wanted  to  smooth 
my  hair  first,  but  Father  wouldn't  let  me,  and  I  was 


taken  just  as  I  was.  Then  Father  brushed  my  hair 
nicely  and  the  photographer  took  this  other  picture." 

"Why,  they  look  like  two  different  boys,"  said 
Paul. 

"For  a  whole  year,"  laughed  Father,  "I  had  those 
pictures  standing  on  my  bureau,  and  I  never  once 
forgot  to  brush  my  hair." 

"I  think,"  said  Mother,  "it  must  be  six  o'clock. 
Suppose  you  children  put  all  this  talk  into  prac- 
tice by  going  upstairs  and  brushing  your  hair 
before  supper." 


134  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

THINGS  TO  DO 

If  you  have  already  formed  a  Health-Club,  add  this 
to  your  health-chores.  With  a  clean  stiff  brush,  give  your 
hair  and  scalp  100  strokes,  50  to  a  side,  before  you  go  to 
bed.  This  is  an  old-fashioned  recipe  for  beautiful  hair. 
Try  it  for  one  month. 

THINGS  TO  EEMEMBEB 

Hair  grows  from  a  knob  of  little  live  cells,  down  deep 
in  the  skin.  Connected  with  each  hair  are  two  little  oil 
glands.  These  supply  oil  to  keep  the  hair  soft  and 
shining.  Tiny  muscles  are  attached  to  the  sides  of  the 
pit  in  which  the  hair  grows.  Coloring  matter  forms  in 
the  tiny  hairs,  making  them  brown  or  black  or  golden. 
But  sickness,  or  other  strain  on  the  body,  may  rob  the  hair 
of  this  color,  so  that  it  becomes  gray.  Curly  hair  is  hair 
that  is  flattened  like  a  shaving,  instead  of  round  like  a 
pencil.  Trying  to  curl  hair  with  a  hot  iron  takes  the  oil 
out,  makes  it  dry  and  stiff  and  causes  it  to  fall  out.  From 
all  these  facts  we  learn  how  to  care  for  the  hair. 

Old  skin  flakes  off  the  scalp,  just  as  it  does  off  the  rest 
of  the  body.  The  hair  and  scalp,  being  oily,  collect  dust. 
Therefore  we  must  brush  the  hair  and  scalp  thoroughly 
at  least  once  a  day,  for  cleanliness.  Since  the  hair  grows 
from  live  cells,  these  cells  must  be  fed.  By  brushing  the 
scalp  hard  and  regularly  we  bring  the  blood  to  the  sur- 
face, where  it  gives  the  cells  the  food  they  need  to  make 
new  hair.  No  tonic  put  on  the  outside  is  as  useful  as 
regular  rubbing  to  make  hair  grow. 

We  are  not  all  blessed  with  beautiful  hair,  but  we  can 
make  the  most  of  what  we  have.  First,  we  can  keep  it 
smooth  and  glossy  and  clean,  by  daily  brushing  with  a 
clean  brush.  Second,  we  can  wash  it  often  enough  for 
cleanliness.  This  will  be  perhaps  once  a  week,  perhaps 
once  in  three  weeks,  depending  on  how  clean  our  sur- 


CARE  OF  THE  HAIR  135 

roundings  are.  We  use  hot  water  and  thick  soapsuds, 
for  washing  the  hair.  We  never  rub  soap  directly  on  our 
hair.  After  we  have  cleansed  the  hair  in  the  lather,  we 
rinse  it  several  times,  first  with  clear  warm  water,  then 
with  cold  water,  till  all  the  soap  is  out.  We  dry  the  hair 
well  with  clean  towels.  We  are  careful  not  to  go  outdoors, 
in  cool  weather,  until  the  hair  is  quite  dry. 

Finally,  we  never  use  the  combs  or  brushes  of  other 
people,  but  always  have  our  own. 

THINGS  TO  THINK  ABOUT 

How  does  hair  grow?    What  keeps  it  soft  and  shining? 

Why  can  we  improve  our  hair  by  rubbing!  Why  do 
all  the  hair-tonics  give  directions  for  rubbing  these  things 
into  the  scalp?  How  much  good  do  " tonics "  do? 

Could  keeping  the  health-rules  have  anything  to  do 
with  beautiful  hair  ? 

How  do  you  shampoo  your  hair?  How  often?  Is 
yours  the  best  way?  How  can  you  improve  it?  How 
do  you  care  for  your  hair  daily  ?  What  more  could  you  do  ? 

Some  states  have  laws  against  public  toilet  articles. 
Why?  Has  your  state?  Do  you  think  such  laws 
are  necessary? 

How  do  you  care  for  your  comb  and  brush?  How 
could  you  take  better  care  of  it? 


CHAPTER  XIV 

SEEDS  OF  DISEASE 

RUTH  laid  down  Grimm's  Fairy  Tales  with  a  sigh. 
"I  wish  there  were  really  fairies,"  she  said.  "I'd 
love  to  see  one." 

"Yes,"  echoed  Paul,  "I'd  like  to  see  one  so  little 
that  he  could  sit  in  Mother's  thimble." 

"Dear  me,"  said  Father,  "a  fairy  as  big  as  that 
would  be  a  perfect  giant.  You  mustn't  expect  fairies 
to  be  big  enough  for  you  to  see.  But  if  we  were  to  set 
a  trap,  I  think  we  might  catch  some  fairies  right  in 
this  room,  and  then  perhaps  Dr.  Clarke  would  lend 
us  his  magic  glass  so  we  could  look  at  them." 

"O,  Daddy,"  protested  Ruth,  "not  real  fairies 
here  in  this  room!" 

"Well,"  said  Father,  "I  don't  know  what  you  call 
'real'  fairies,  but  there  really  are  here  in  this  room 
millions  of  little  living  things,  only  they  are  too  small 
to  be  seen." 

"Where  are  they?"  demanded  Paul. 

Father  fixed  the  shutters  so  that  a  single  bar  of 
sunlight  fell  across  the  floor.  "Do  you  see  those 
specks  of  dust  dancing  around  in  the  sunlight  1"  he 
asked.  "Each  of  those  dust  specks  is  carrying  a  load 
of  germ  goblins." 

"What  does  'germ'  mean,  Daddy?"  Paul 
inquired. 

"It  means  'seed,'     The  germ  goblins  carry  both 

136 


SEEDS  OF  DISEASE  137 

good  and  bad  seed.  Some  of  their  seeds  help  to  make 
butter  and  cheese,  to  raise  our  bread,  to  make  butter- 
milk and  to  turn  cider  into  vinegar.  Some  of  the  seeds 
rot  fruit,  make  the  bread  mouldy,  decay  our  teeth, 
and  give  us  mumps,  whooping-cough,  typhoid  fever 
and  other  diseases." 

"Oh,  I'd  love  to  set  a  trap  and  catch  some  germ 
goblins!"  cried  Paul.  "How  can  we  do  it?" 

"There  are  several  ways,"  said  Father,  "but  one 
of  the  easiest  traps  to  make  at  home  is  a  potato  trap. 
Come  out  into  the  kitchen  and  let's  make  one." 

In  half  an  hour  the  trap  was  made.  This  is  how 
Father  did  it.  He  took  a  potato,  washed  it  and  boiled 
it  carefully  so  as  not  to  break  the  skin.  Then,  after 
putting  a  knife  into  boiling  water  for  a  few  moments, 
he  used  it  to  cut  the  potato  in  two.  He  laid  each  half 
of  the  potato,  with  the  cut  side  up,  on  a  saucer  and 
poured  in  a  little  water. 

"Why  did  you  boil  the  knife?"  asked  Paul. 

"So  no  germs  would  get  from  it  onto  the  potato. 
We  want  to  catch  in  our  potato  trap  only  the  germs 
from  the  air." 

"Now  where  shall  we  set  the  traps'?"  asked 
Euth.  "I  think  I'll  set  mine  on  the  window-sill  in 
Mother's  room." 

"It'll  get  knocked  off.  I'm  going  to  put  mine 
under  her  bed,"  said  Paul. 

When  Mrs.  Weston  saw  the  procession  entering 
her  room  and  heard  Paul's  excited  explanation  that 
they  were  going  to  "catch  germ  fairies,"  she  said, 


138  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

"Very  well,  you  may  leave  the  traps  here,  but  nobody 
is  to  look  at  them  for  three  days,  not  until  Saturday." 

Early  Saturday  morning  both  children  rushed  to 
look  at  their  traps.  Ruth  ran  to  the  window,  but 
exclaimed,  in  dismay,  "O,  Daddy,  I  haven't  caught 
anything  at  all!  My  potato  just  looks  dried  up 
and  queer." 

Meanwhile,  Paul  came  wriggling  out  from  under 
the  bed.  '  *  Look ! "  he  cried.  ' '  Look  at  the  funny  stuff 
growing  on  my  potato  trap ! ' ' 

"Yes,"  said  Father,  "  here  is  a  real  germ-garden. 
Paul's  potato  caught  the  invisible  seeds  from  the  air." 

"But,"  said 
Ruth,  "why  didn't 
my  trap  catch  any?" 
"I  suspect  there 
were  two  reasons, 
Ruthie,"said  Mother.  "In  the  first  place, the  window 
was  closed,  so  it  wasn't  so  dusty  up  on  the  sill  as  it 
was  under  the  bed,  and  there  weren't  so  many  germs 
carried  to  your  potato.  In  the  second  place,  your 
trap  stood  in  the  bright  sunshine  all  day,  and  germs 
just  hate  sunshine — it  almost  always  kills  them." 

"You  said  we  might  see  them  through  Dr.  Clarke's 
magic  glass,  Daddy,"  said  Paul. 

"So  you  may,  Paul.  Dr.  Clarke  lent  it  to  me  yes- 
terday," replied  his  Father.  Leading  the  way  down- 
stairs, he  went  to  his  desk  and  there  stood  a  fine  micro- 
scope. "Here,"  he  said,  "is  the  glass  through  which 
we  can  look  into  fairyland. ' '  With  a  needle,  he  picked 
up  a  speck  of  the  germ-garden  and  put  it  on  a  glass 


SEEDS  OF  DISEASE 


139 


under  the  microscope.    After  a  moment,  he  told  the 

children  to  look.    They  saw  a  number  of  queer  little 

things  something  like  this. 
"There,"      said      Father, 

"are   several    different   kinds 

of  germs.    You  see  that  some 

are    like    marbles,    some    like 

pencils  and  others  are  like  tiny 

corkscrews." 

Ruth  looked  rather  fright- 
ened    "And   do   we   have  to 

breathe  those  things  into 
our  lungs  all  the  time?" 
she  asked. 

"Most  of  them  are  per- 
fectly harmless,  Ruth," 
Father  replied,  "but  of 
course  we  don't  want  to 
breathe  any  more  dust 
than  we  can  help.  The 
other  day,  while  I  was 
waiting  for  Aunt  Louise 
in  her  parlor,  the  maid, 
Carrie,  was  dusting  like 
this." 

Ruth  and  Paul  both 
laughed  at  Father's 
sketch.  "O,  Daddy,"  cried 

Paul,  "did  she  plant  a  farm  of  germs  on  your  nose  ?" 
"She  did,"  declared  his  Father,  "and  when  Aunt 

Louise  came  in,  she  said,  'Where  on  earth  did  vou 


140  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

get  that  dreadful  feather-duster?"  and  she  took  the 
duster  and  burned  it  up." 

"And  now,  how  will  Carrie  dust?"  said  Ruth. 

"The  only  right  way — with  a  damp  cloth.  You 
see,  Ruth,  it's  only  when  they  are  dry  that  germs  can 
fly  about.  When  they  are  moist  they  *  stay  put. 7 

"Is  that  why  the  janitor  at  school  sprinkles  damp 
sawdust  on  the  floor  before  he  sweeps?"  asked  Paul. 

"Yes,  and  that  is  why  the  streets  need  to  be 
sprinkled  to  lay  the  dust  and  also  washed  every  night, 
to  wash  the  germs  away." 

"Daddy,"  said  Ruth,  "why  do  they  put  up  signs 
saying  people  mustn't  spit  in  the  cars  and  on  the  side- 
walk? Of  course,  it  is  impolite  to  do  it,  but  it  isn't 
dangerous,  is  it?" 

"Yes,  indeed,  it  is  very  dangerous,"  said  Father. 
"Why,  Ruth,  about  seventy  different  kinds  of  germs 
have  been  found  in  people 's  mouths.  Then,  too,  many 
people  have  colds,  or  tuberculosis,  even.  If  they  spit 
in  the  street,  pretty  soon  it  will  dry  up  and  all  the 
disease  germs  will  be  free  to  float  away  on  the  air  and 
be  breathed  into  someone  else's  lungs." 

' '  I  never  thought  of  that, ' '  said  Ruth.  '  *  Are  there 
many  kinds  of  germs  that  can  grow  in  our  bodies  ?" 

"Oh,  yes.  Some  day  I'll  take  you  and  Paul  to  the 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History  in  New  York. 
They  have  a  wonderful  germ-garden  of  almost  every 
known  kind  of  germ." 

"Where  did  they  catch  them  all?  Do  they  travel 
any  way  except  through  the  air?"  asked  Paul. 

"Yes,  indeed.    Dirty  water  is  full  of  germs  and 


SEEDS  OF  DISEASE 


141 


often,  even  when  the  water  looks  clean,  it  is  unfit  to 
drink.  That  is  why  it  is  unsafe  to  drink  from  ponds 
and  other  places  that  you  know  nothing  about.  Chil- 
dren need  to  think  more  about  what  they  put  into 


their  mouths.  Here  is  a  picture  that  I  took  the 
other  day.  The  apples  look  so  pretty  and  shiny  be- 
cause the  man  had  just  spit  on  them  and  polished 
them  with  his  dirty  handkerchief." 


142  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

"And  now  the  little  boy  is  putting  all  that  dirt 
into  his  mouth ! ' '  exclaimed  Ruth.  ' '  Oh,  how  horrid ! ' ' 

"Yes,  isn't  it?"  agreed  Father,  "and  I've  seen 
children  put  pencils,  pennies,  dirty  fingers  and  other 
dirty  things  into  their  mouths." 

"Is  there  any  way  to  kill  germs,  Daddy?"  asked 
Ruth. 

"Oh,  yes.  Bright  sunshine  will  often  kill  them. 
So  will  some  liquids,  like  peroxide  of  hydrogen. 
When  3^ou  cut  your  finger,  Mother  washes  it,  puts  on 
peroxide,  and  binds  it  up  to  keep  the  dirt  and  germs 
out.  Another  way  to  kill  germs  is  to  boil  them." 

"Is  that  why  Bridget  boils  the  clothes  on  wash- 
day ?"  asked  Ruth. 

"Yes.  You  know  our  bodies  and  our  clothes  get 
just  covered  with  germs.  Hello,  Paul !  It  looks  to  me 
as  if  you  had  a  promising  germ-garden  right  here." 
Father  held  up  Paul 's  plump  little  hands.  '  '  Dear  me ! 
Ten  gardens  and  about  ten  million  germs  in  each 
of  them!" 

As  Paul  hurried  away  to  the  bathroom,  Ruth  said, 
"I  always  knew  that  it  was  impolite  and  didn't  look 
nice  to  be  dirty,  but  I  never  knew  before  that  dirt 
made  us  ill.  I'm  going  to  get  all  the  sunshine  I  can, 
so  as  to  kill  the  bad  germs.  I  don't  suppose  I  can 
boil  myself,  but  I'm  going  to  scrub  myself  until  they 
get  discouraged  and  go  away." 

"That's  right,  Ruth,"  said  Mother,  "you  know 
the  proverb  says,  ' Cleanliness  is  next  to  godliness.' 
That  means  that  being  clean  usually  means  being  well, 
and  being  well  is  the  first  step  to  being  good." 


SEEDS  OF  DISEASE 


143 


144  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

THINGS  TO  DO 

Let  us  make  some  potato  traps  for  germs  as  Paul's 
father  did.  For  each  experiment  that  you  wish  to  try, 
get  an  old  saucer  and  a  tumbler.  Then  after  washing  these 
clean,  boil  them  for  twenty  minutes  and  leave  them  in 
the  water  till  you  need  them.  Also  boil  a  clean-washed 
potato,  not  breaking  the  skin.  Boil  a  knife  at  the  same 
time.  Take  the  saucers  out  of  the  water,  but  do  not  wipe 
them,  and  on  each  lay  a  slice  of  the  potato,  cut  with  the 
boiled  knife.  Cover  each  slice  with  a  boiled  tumbler.  We 
do  all  these  things  so  carefully,  so  as  not  to  plant  any 
germs  on  the  potatoes  before  we  set  our  traps.  Perhaps 
your  teacher  will  do  all  this  for  you. 

Now  put  one  slice  of  potato  on  a  saucer,  and  set  it, 
uncovered,  in  a  sunny  window.  Put  some  dust  from  the 
floor  on  another  slice  and  cover  it  again  with  the  boiled 
tumbler.  Find  someone  with  dirty  fingernails,  and  after 
he  has  cleaned  them  with  a  clean  file,  let  him  put  the 
scrapings  on  another  of  your  potato  slices.  On  another 
slice  put  a  few  drops  of  clear  pond-water.  Get  a  clean 
toothpick,  scrape  between  your  teeth,  and  rub  the  tooth- 
pick over  another  potato  slice.  After  all  the  slices  of 
potato  have  been  prepared  and  are  covered  up  with  the 
glasses,  set  them  in  a  warm  dark  place  for  a  few  days. 
Then  look  at  them.  Which  ones  have  germ  gardens 
growing?  Which  not?  What  kinds  of  substances  seem 
to  have  germs  on  them?  What  kinds  of  places  do  germs 
like  to  grow  in  ? 

(Plain  agar  slants  or  plates  are  effective,  if  the 
teacher  can  get  them.  State  and  City  Boards  of  Health 
will  often  furnish  them  free  to  schools,  if  the  glassware 
is  returned.) 

THINGS  TO  KEMEMBER 

Germs  are  so  tiny  that  we  cannot  see  them,  except 
with  very  strong  microscopes.  There  are  millions  of  them, 


SEEDS  OP  DISEASE    •  145 

and  they  are  everywhere.  But  nine-tenths  of  them  are 
our  good  friends.  They  help  to  decay  vegetation,  and  so 
make  good  garden  soil  for  us.  They  help  us  to  make 
cheese,  butter,  to  tan  leather,  to  make  vinegar  and  other 
useful  things.  The  germs  that  are  dangerous  or  harm- 
ful live  on  foods  that  we  need,  and  spoil  them.  Worse 
than  this,  they  live  in  our  bodies  and  those  of  other  ani- 
mals and  plants.  Here  they  may  cause  sickness  or  death. 

Because  we  cannot  see  them,  to  tell  the  good  ones  from 
the  bad,  we  must  learn  to  control  all  of  them.  We  must 
keep  them  away  from  our  bodies,  and  out  of  our  food  and 
our  homes,  as  well  as  we  can.  We  can  do  this  through 
learning  how  they  live  and  behave. 

We  know  that  germs  are  like  seeds  of  plants,  because 
they  need  moisture,  food  and  a  warm  temperature  to  grow. 
Bright  sunlight  checks  their  growth. 

We  know  that  germs  living  in  people's  bodies  often 
cause  sickness,  and  that  they  may  start  that  same  sick- 
ness in  other  people,  if  they  can  get  into  other  people's 
bodies.  Therefore,  to  prevent  sickness  from  spreading, 
we  try  to  prevent  live  germs  from  getting  carried  about, 
from  the  sick  to  the  well. 

We  know  that  we  must  be  careful  not  to  let  discharges 
from,  our  mouths  and  noses  get  into  the  air  by  coughing 
or  sneezing  carelessly. 

We  know  that  we  must  always  wash  our  hands  and 
clean  our  nails  before  eating  or  preparing  food  for  other 
people.  We  must  not  put  fingers  into  the  mouth. 

We  know  that  when  people  do  any  kind  of  cleaning 
they  should  raise  as  little  dust  as  possible. 

We  know  also  that  the  city  we  live  in,  and  also  the 
state,  have  laws  to  protect  us  from  germs.  Some  of  these 
laws  compel  people  sick  of  certain  " catching"  diseases 
to  keep  away  from  well  people.  One  rule  makes  the 
doctor  put  a  card  on  the  front  door  to  tell  people  when  a 
10 


146  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

' '  catching  disease ' '  is  inside.  Another  law  makes  people 
get  vaccinated.  Other  laws  provide  us  with  public-health 
nurses  and  doctors.  We  should  be  willing  to  obey  these 
rules,  even  if  we  do  not  like  them. 

Our  cities  have  other  laws  to  protect  our  foods,  our 
water  and  our  milk  supplies  from  germs  which  might 
spoil  them  through  careless  handling  by  thoughtless  or 
dirty  people.  We  should  try  to  find  out  what  these  laws 
are,  and  help  the  city  keep  them.  This  is  the  sign  of 
the  good  citizen. 

THINGS  TO  THINK  ABOUT 

1.  How  can  we  prevent  germs  from  growing  in  our 
homes  1 

2.  What  are  the  health-reasons   for  washing  hands 
before  handling  food  ? 

3.  What  are  the  health-reasons  for  carrying  a  clean 
handkerchief  ? 

4.  How  will  the  careful  housekeeper  sweep  and  dust? 
How  is  your  school  cleaned!    Could  it  be  better  done? 

5.  There  is  a  Good-Health  Club  in  Louisville  which 
promised  the  school  nurse  not  to  put  pencils  or  fingers  in 
their  mouths,  or  to  take  bites  of  each  other's  lunches. 
Why  did  the  nurse  ask  this  of  them? 

6.  What  are  four  things  that  we  know  about  germs 
which  will  help  us  to  prevent  sickness  from  spreading? 

7.  What  Health  Rules  could  you  make  about  germs 
from  what  you  learned  about  them  in  the  "germ-traps"? 

8.  What  are  some  rules  that  your  town  has  made  to 
keep  its  people  well? 

9.  What  can  you  do  to  prevent  the  spread  of  germs  in 
your  school?    In  your  home? 


CHAPTER  XV 

SOMETHING  ABOUT  FLIES 

4  '  BANG  ! ' '  shouted  Paul.  He  jumped  out  from  be- 
hind the  arm-chair  and  pointed  a  cane  at  his  Father. 
"This  is  my  gun,  Daddy,  and  I  am  Teddy  Roosevelt 
shooting  lions  in  Africa." 

"Dear  me,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Weston,  "I  didn't 
know  that  you  were  such  a  great  hunter.  It  is  a  shame 
for  you  to  be  killing  only  make-believe  lions.  Come 
into  the  kitchen.  When  I  was  out  there  just  now  I 
saw  a  dangerous  wild  animal — far  more  dangerous 
than  a  lion." 

Paul's  eyes  opened  wide — "Really,  Daddy'?" 

"Really.    Come  on." 

As  they  went  through  the  kitchen  door,  the  brave 
hunter  clung  to  his  Father's  hand  and  looked  hastily 
around  in  all  the  dark  corners.  ' '  I  don 't  see  anything, 
Daddy,"  he  whispered.  For  answer,  his  Father 
pointed  to  the  gas-jet.  Paul  stared  at  it  for  a  mo- 
ment, then  he  exclaimed,  "Why  that  isn't  a  dangerous 
wild  animal — it 's  only  a  fly ! " 

"Only  a  fly!"  cried  Father.  "I'm  afraid  you 
don't  know  much  about  flies.  Go  get  Ruth  and  bring 
the  magnifying  glass  from  my  desk.  I  want  to  tell 
you  something  about  this  dangerous  beast. ' ' 

A  few  minutes  later,  Ruth  and  Paul  were  standing 
on  a  chair  by  the  gas-jet  while  they  took  turns  looking 

147 


148  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

at  the  fly  through  the  magnifying  glass.    "He  does 
look  wild, ' '  said  Ruth.    "What  big  eyes ! ' ' 

"Yes,"  agreed  Father,  "he  can  see  in  all  direc- 
tions. He  can  smell  very  well,  too.  He  and  his  fam- 
ily always  know  when  Mother  is  baking  pie  or  cake 
and  come  hurrying  to  get  some.  However,  I  think 
they  like  garbage  just  as  well." 


"His  legs  and  body  have  little  hairs  all  over 
them,"  said  Paul. 

"Yes,  but  he  never  uses  a  brush  and  comb.  He 
wipes  the  dirt  off  his  face  with  his  front  legs,  then 
he  wipes  it  off  his  front  legs  onto  his  hind  ones,  then 
he  wipes  his  hind  legs  over  his  wings.  You  see,  he  just 
keeps  wiping  it  off  one  place  and  onto  another.  But 
he  never  dreams  of  taking  a  bath." 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  FLIES  149 

" Except  when  he  falls  in,"  put  in  Ruth.  "I  saw 
a  fly  in  the  milk  pitcher  at  a  restaurant,  once." 

' '  How  does  he  eat,  Daddy  ? ' '  asked  Paul.  ' '  Has  he 
any  teeth?" 

"No,  he  has  no  teeth.  You  can  see  that  he  has  a 
sort  of  trunk,  like  an  elephant.  He  sucks  his  food 
up  through  this  tube,  just  as  you  suck  lemonade 
through  a  straw." 

"Well,  but  how  does  he  eat  bread  and  sugar  and 
solid  things?" 

"  In  a  very  impolite  way, ' '  said  Father.  i '  He  spits 
on  the  bread  or  sugar  and  gets  it  all  wet  and  partly  dis- 
solved and  then  sucks  it  up." 

< '  Oh,  how  perfectly  horrid ! ' '  cried  Ruth.  "  I  don 't 
wonder  that  Mother  tries  to  shoo  all  the  flies  out  of 
the  dining-room." 

"Another  of  his  disagreeable  ways,"  said  her 
Father,  "is  this."  He  pointed  to  some  little  grayish 
spots  on  the  window-pane.  "You  see,  the  fly  is  very 
greedy.  He  doesn't  eat  between  meals,  because  there 
isn't  any i between' — life  is  just  one  long  meal  for  him. 
Now  when  he  has  just  come  perfectly  stuffed  from  the 
garbage-pail,  he  may  find  on  the  supper-table  a  de- 
licious piece  of  cake.  He  promptly  ' throws  up'  his 
last  meal  to  make  room  for  the  cake  and  eats  it.  These 
spots  on  the  pane  are  made  that  way. " 

"I  always  heard,"  said  Ruth,  "that  flies  were 
dirty,  but  I  never  knew  before  how  nasty  they  are. ' ' 

"Well,  you  see,  Ruthie,  the  fly  is  born  and  brought 
up  on  dirt,  so  he  likes  it." 

"Are  the  little  flies  babies?"  asked  Paul. 


150 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


"No,  flies  don't  grow.  The  little  ones  are  usually 
another  kind  of  fly.  Mr.  Fly,  up  there  on  the  gas-jet, 
was  once  a  tiny  white  egg,  so  small  you  could  hardly 
see  him.  His  mother  laid  him  early  one  Sunday  morn- 
ing with  about  120  of  his  brothers  and  sisters  on  a 

heap  of  manure  over  in  Mr. 
Dix's  livery  stable.  I'll  draw 
you  a  picture  of  the  flies' 
nursery.  It  was  warm  and 
dark  and  damp  there — a  fine 
•place  for  the  eggs.  With  a 
strong  magnifying  glass  you 
'could  have  seen  the  eggs  like 
this.  That  afternoon,  Mr.  Fly 
crawled  out  of  his  eggshell." 


.. 


Did  he  look  as  he  does  now?"  inquired  Ruth. 

"Oh,  no,  he  was  a  tiny,  wriggling,  white  worm,  or 
maggot,  like  this.  He  burrowed  into  the  manure,  eat- 
ing and  squirming  about  with  the  rest  of  the  family, 
until  on  Thursday  he  began  to  feel  sleepy.  Then  he 
made  himself  a  brown  case,  like  a  cocoon,  and  rolled 
up  and  went  to  sleep  in  it.  A  fly's  cocoon  is  called  a 
'pupa.'  Here  are  several  of  them." 

"And  when  did  he  wake  up,  Daddy?"  asked  Paul. 

"He  did  not  wake  up  for  five  days,  but  on  Mon- 
day morning  he  gave  a  big  stretch  and  cracked  the 
pupa-case  and  out  he  came — a  fly!  His  wings  were 
wet  at  first,  but  they  soon  dried  and  he  flew  away." 

"Where  did  he  go?"  chorused  both  the  children. 

"He  smelled  something  that  he  thought  delicious. 
It  was  Mr.  Cole  '&  pig-sty.  He  had  a  delightful  break- 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  FLIES 


151 


fast  from  the  pigs '  trough  and  then  he  flew  lazily  away 
and  into  the  grocery.  Mr.  Mullins  had  some  ginger- 
snaps  for  sale  on  the  counter  and  Mr.  Fly  wiped  the 
pigs'  feed  from  his  feet  on  to  the  ginger-snaps  and 
then  buzzed  away." 

"Mr.  Mullins  ought  to  keep  his  cookies  covered 
up,"  said  Kuth,  decidedly. 

"So  he  ought,  but  he  doesn't,  and  that  is  why 
Mother  goes  a  block  further  to  buy  from  Mr.  Hughes' 
store,  where  everything  is  covered  and  kept  clean. 
You  see,  each  of  the  fly's  six  feet  has  on  it  two  pads 
that  are  all  sticky,  so  he  can  walk  on  the  ceiling. 
These  twelve  sticky  pads  pick  up  every  kind  of  dirt 
from  streets,  stables,  outhouses,  pig-pens  and  every 
sort  of  filthy  place.  Do  you  remember  what  I  told 
you  the  other  day  about  the 
disease-seeds  that  we  call 
germs?" 

"Oh,     yes,"     cried    both 
children.    ' '  Of  course  we  do. ' ' 

"Well,  Mr.  Ply,  in  his 
travels,  becomes  just  loaded 
down  with  germs.  He  usually 
carries  over  a  million  of 
them.  Paul,  please  bring  me 
the  r§d  book  lying  on  the  parlor  table."  When  Paul 
returned  with  the  book,  his  Father  opened  it  to  this 
picture.  "Here,"  he  said,  "is  a  photograph  of  the 
germs  left  by  the  feet  of  a  fly.  Just  see  how  many 
germs  Mr.  Fly  leaves  on  our  food  if  we  give  him 
a  chance," 


152 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


Mother 
flies'?" 


"What  diseases  do  flies  carry,  Daddy  ?"  asked 
Ruth. 

"They  carry  typhoid  fever,  tuberculosis,  summer 
complaint  and  even  smallpox.  I'll  draw  you  a  picture 
of  something  I  saw  yesterday  in  the  railroad  station. 
A  baby  was  sitting  like  this,  enjoying  his  bottle.  Be- 
side him,  on  the  floor,  was  a  spittoon.  The  flies  were 
drinking  from  it  and  then  lighting  on  the  nipple 

of  the  bottle.  Perhaps 
someone  with  tuberculosis 
had  just  used  that 
spittoon." 

"Didn't     his 
shoo     away     the 
asked  Paul. 

"No,  I  suppose  she 
thought,  like  you,  that 
they  were  'only  flies'  and 
didn't  know  that  they 
might  kill  her  baby." 

"I'll  tell  you,  Ruth," 
said  Paul,  "when  we  get  our  allowance  money  to- 
morrow, let's  each  buy  a  wire  fly-swatter.  We'll  use 
one  to  kill  all  the  flies  here  and  give  the  other  to  Mr. 
Mullins,  so  he  can  keep  .them  off  his  ginger-snaps." 
"He  wouldn't  have  time  to  kill  flies  and  wait  on 
people,  too,"  said  Ruth.  "I  think  a  trap  would 
be  better." 

Father  had  opened  the  red  book  again.  "Traps 
do  help,"  he  said.  "Now  here  is  a  trap  that  was  in- 
vented by  Professor  Hodge  of  Clark  University.  It 


154  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

is  in  the  lid  of  the  garbage  can,  you  see,  and  all  the 
flies  who  come  to  feed  on  the  garbage  crawl  up  into 
the  trap  and  are  caught.  Professor  Hodge  caught 
2500  flies  in  this  trap  in  less  than  an  hour.  If  we  could 
catch  and  kill  all  the  flies  in  the  beginning  of  the 
summer,  before  they  lay  their  eggs,  just  think  what 
a  difference  it  would  make." 

"Yes,"  said  Paul,  "with  every  Mother  fly  having 
120  babies," 

6 '  Oh,  it  ?s  worse  than  that, ' '  said  Father,  '  *  for  every 
fly  lays  eggs  several  times  during  the  summer,  so  she 
has  about  1000  babies,  and  each  baby,  in  about  three 
weeks,  is  grown  up  and  having  babies  of  its  own. ' ' 

"Goodness!"  exclaimed  Ruth.  "How  can  people 
ever  get  ahead  of  them?" 

"The  great  thing  to  remember,"  said  Father,  "is 
that  flies  love  dirt.  If  the  manure  was  all  carted 
away  every  week  and  spread  out  where  the  sun  could 
kill  the  eggs  and  worms,  if  all  the  houses  had  bath- 
rooms and  proper  plumbing,  if  all  the  garbage  pails 
were  covered,  and  if  every  house  and  street  and  yard 
were  kept  clean,  the  flies  would  have  no  place  where 
their  eggs  could  hatch  and  where  they  could  eat  and 
enjoy  themselves." 

"What  happens  to  the  flies  in  winter,  Daddy?" 
asked  Paul.  ' '  Do  they  all  die  ?  " 

"Most  of  them — but  some  crawl  into  bakeries,  and 
greenhouses  and  other  warm  places,  or  hide  in  the 
cracks  of  walls,  and  live  until  spring.  Then  they  lay 
their  eggs  and  soon  the  flies  swarm  just  as  thickly 
as  ever." 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  FLIES  155 

"  So  we  ought  to  try  especially  hard  to  kill  the  flies 
in  spring,  oughtn't  we?"  said  Ruth. 

" Yes,"  said  Father.  "When  I  was  a  boy  we  used 
to  have  a  rhyme  about  it.  It  went  like  this : 

"  'Kill  a  fly  in  Spring — you've  done  a  splendid  thing. 
Kill  a  fly  in  May — you've  kept  thousands  away. 
Kill  a  fly  in  June — and  they'll  be  scarcer  soon. 
Kill  one  in  July — you've  killed  only  one  fly.' 

THINGS  TO  DO 

Form  a  "  Fly-Fighters '  Brigade. "  Every  member 
must  own  a  fly-swatter.  You  can  make  your  swatter  out 
of  a  double  fold  of  wire  screen  fastened  between  two  thin 
strips  of  wood.  Keep  a  score  of  the  number  of  flies  you 
have  destroyed.  Let  your  goal  be  a  "flyless"  house  and 
a  "flyless"  school. 

If  there  are  any  good  carpenters  among  you,  you  will 
enjoy  making  a  fly-trap.  Send  four  cents  to  the  Interna- 
tional Harvester  Company,  Chicago,  111. — the  Agricul- 
tural Extension  Department.  Ask  them  to  send  you  the 
plans  for  a  fly-trap.  When  the  trap  is  made,  set  it  where 
there  are  many  flies. 

THINGS  TO  REMEMBER 

A  mother  fly  will  lay  more  than  120  eggs  at  once.  In 
a  few  hours  these  eggs  hatch  into  little  white  worms  called 
maggots.  Each  eats  the  decayed  material  on  which  it  was 
laid,  and  in  four  or  five  days  changes  into  a  motionless 
creature  called  a  pupa.  The  pupa  rests  for  five  or  six 
days.  At  the  end  of  that  time  the  pupa  skin  splits,  and 
a  full-grown  fly  comes  out.  In  about  three  weeks  these 
young  flies  lay  eggs  themselves.  A  fly  lays  eggs  three  or 
four  times  during  the  summer.  Therefore,  every  fly  we 


156  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

see  in  spring  should  be  killed  to  prevent  thousands  more 
later  on. 

The  feet  of  flies  are  covered  with  hairs.  On  the  bot- 
tom of  each  foot  there  are  two  sticky  pads,  which  help 
the  fly  to  walk  on  the  ceiling.  Flies  lay  their  eggs  in  filth 
of  all  kinds.  They  eat  not  only  our  food  but  all  kinds  of 
decaying  material  in  which  germs  of  disease  may  be.  So 
they  travel  back  and  forth  from  filthy  places  to  our  food 
or  dishes.  They  pick  up  germs  on  their  hairy  and  sticky 
feet.  Thus  seeds  of  disease  are  carried  by  flies  into 
people's  food. 

The  only  way  to  prevent  this  spread  of  disease  by  flies 
is  to  get  rid  of  every  single  fly.  The  best  way  is  to  destroy 
their  breeding-places  by  screening  all  manure  heaps  which 
cannot  be  removed,  by  keeping  garbage  cans  covered,  by 
keeping  streets,  alleys  and  all  premises  perfectly  clean. 

Next  we  can  make  fly-traps.  We  can  have  fly-swats 
close  at  hand  to  kill  stray  flies.  Of  course,  we  will  screen 
our  houses.  Besides  this  we  can  persuade  merchants  to 
screen  their  places  by  refusing  to  buy  any  food  which  flies 
can  reach. 

THINGS  TO  THINK  ABOUT 

1.  Tell  the  story  of  a  fly's  life.    Knowing  this,  you  will 
surely  destroy  any  places  where  it  could  develop. 

2.  What    do    you    know    about    a    fly's    body    and 
habits  which  explains  why  he  is  so  dangerous  a  carrier 
of  sickness? 

3.  What  kind  of  a  grocery  or  bakery  or  dairy  do  you 
want  your  food  to  come  from?    Why? 

4.  What  things  can  boys  or  girls  do  at  home  to  pro- 
tect their  families  from  flies  ?  How  many  will  you  under- 
take to  try?  Your  teacher  will  keep  a  record  for  you  of 
how  many  fly-fighting  duties  you  do  for  a  month. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

"LITTLE  DROPS  OF  WATER" 

"On,  dear,"  sighed  Ruth,  one  September  morn- 
ing. "Isn't  it  too  bad,  Mother,  that  we  have  to  leave 
the  beach  and  go  back  home  to  school  ?  I  just  love  the 
water.  I'd  like  to  be  a  mermaid  and  live  in  it." 

"So  would  I,"  cried  Paul.  "I'd  like  to  be  a  diver." 

Mother  smiled.  "I  suppose  the  reason  why  chil- 
dren love  the  water  so  much  is  that  they  are  mostly 
made  of  water  themselves." 

' '  Made  of  water  ? ' '  echoed  Ruth.  '  <  Why,  what  do 
you  mean  ?" 

"Just  what  I  say,"  replied  Mother.  "The  world 
and  all  the  living  things  in  it  are  mostly  made 
of  water." 

Ruth  hesitated.  "Well,"  she  at  last  remarked, 
"of  course,  I  learned  in  geography  class  that  two- 
thirds  of  the  world  is  lakes  and  oceans  and  other  kinds 
of  water.  I  don't  quite  see  how  /  can  be. ' ' 

"Oh,"  said  Mother,  "we  aren't  all  water,  of 
course,  but  grown  folks  are  more  than  half  water,  and 
babies  and  children  are  about  three-quarters  water. ' ' 

Ruth  still  looked  puzzled.  "You  know,  Ruth," 
Mother  went  on,  "how  much  more  juicy  young  corn 
and  beets  and  celery  are  than  when  they  are  old^ 
All  young  things  have  a  good  deal  more  water  in  them. 
Now,  the  body  is  constantly  losing  water  through  the 

157 


158 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


kidneys,  through  perspiration,  and  in  steam — or  what 
wre  call  breath — from  the  lungs." 

"Oh,  yes,  I've  often  seen  my  breath  on  cold  days," 
agreed  Euth. 

"So,"  said  Mother,  "you  can  readily  see  that  we 
must  drink  a  lot  of  water,  to  make  up  for  what 
we  lose." 

"How  much  ought  we  to  drink?"  asked  Paul. 

"That   depends,"   replied   Mother,   "on   several 

things.    In  summer,  or  in  a  hot  engine-room,  or  when 

we  are  playing  very  hard,  so  much  water  runs  away  in 

perspiration  that  we  get  thirsty  and  need  to  drink 

plenty  of  water.  If  we  eat 
dry  things,  like  corned  beef 
and  toast  and  crackers,  we 
need  to  drink  a  good  deal 
more  water  than  if  we  have 
soup,  milk  and  juicy  fruit  and 
vegetables.  Some  people 
seem  to  need  more  water  than 
others,  but  a  good  rule  is  to 
drink  six  or  eight  glasses 
a  day." 

"Is  it  all  right  to  drink  at 
meals?"  asked  Euth. 

"Yes,  only  you  must  be 
careful  to  chew  your  food  thoroughly  and  not  use 
water  to  wash  down  great  chunks  of  it." 
"Eover  gets  awfully  thirsty,"  said  Paul, 
"Yes,  some  folks  seem  to  think  that  cats  and  dogs 
never  need  any  water.    Yesterday,  I  saw  Mr.  Benson 


LITTLE  DROPS  OF  WATER  159 

— you  know  he  is  the  head  of  the  Humane  Society— 
and  he  gave  me  this  sketch  of  a  drinking  fountain  that 
he  is  going  to  build." 

"Where  is  it  to  be  put?"  asked  Ruth. 

"In  the  middle  of  Market  Square,  where  so  many 
teamsters  come  to  water  their  horses.  See,  down  be- 
low, is  a  nice  little  basin  for  the  thirsty  Pussies  and 
Rovers.  And  above,  where  the  people  drink,  there  is 
no  dirty  cup  to  carry  disease  germs  from  one  person's 
mouth  to  another's,  but  a  clean,  bubbling  fountain. 
Mr.  Benson  says  that,  just  as  horses  get  the  ' glanders' 
from  drinking  from  a  common  trough,  so  people  get 
diseases  from  a  common  cup.  He  had  already  pro- 
vided for  the  horses  and  he  thought  he  ought  to  do  as 
much  for  the  teamsters." 

"Jimmy  Smith  has  a  dandy  book,"  said  Paul. 
"It  tells  how  some  boys  were  shipwrecked  and 
couldn't  drink  the  salt  water,  so  when  it  rained,  they 
spread  out  a  sail  and  caught  the  rain  and  drank  it." 

"  Yes, "  said  Mother,  "rain-water  is  very  clean  and 
good  unless  it  falls  through  very  smoky,  dirty  air 
and  runs  off  of  dirty  roofs.  In  the  island  of  Bermuda, 
I've  heard,  they  drink  nothing  but  rain-water.  In 
some  places  people  drink  the  water  of  lakes,  or  rivers, 
or  springs,  but  all  such  water  that  lies  on  top  of  the 
ground  is  very  likely  to  be  spoiled  by  dirt  and  dis- 
ease germs." 

"But  wells  are  safe,  aren't  they?"  asked  Ruth. 

Before  Mother  could  answer,  Paul  put  in,  "How 
does  the  water  get  into  wells  ?  And  why  does  it  stay 
there?  I  should  think  it  would  run  away." 


160 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


6 '  Perhaps  I  can  explain  it, ' '  said  Mother.  ' '  Bring 
me  some  sand  in  this  glass,  please,  Ruth."  Ruth  ran 
out  on  the  beach  and  in  a  moment  returned  with  the 
glass  full  of  sand.  Mother  gently  poured  a  little  water 
on  the  sand.  It  sank  quickly  through  to  the  bottom 
of  the  glass. 

"There,"  said  Mother,  "that  is  what  happens 
when  it  rains.  The  rain  soaks  down  through  the 
sand  and  pebbles,  until  it  comes  to  a  layer  of  clay 
or  solid  rock — just  like  the  bottom  of  our  tumbler. 
It  can't  go  through  that,  so  it  stays  there.  When 
we  build  a  well,  we  dig  down  through  earth  and  gravel 
until  we  come  to  the  rock  where  the  water  is." 


"Well-water  is  all  right  unless  something  drops 
down  into  it,  isn't  it,  Mother!"  asked  Ruth. 

"Let  me  show  you  how  the  well  on  the  Alcock 
place  was  poisoned,"  said  Mother  "Dr.  Clarke  ex- 
plained it  to  me  last  summer.  Here,  you  see,  is  the 
well.  The  rain  trickles  down  through  the  earth  and 
sand  above  and  lies  in  a  pool  on  the  rock — just  as  it 
did  in  our  tumbler.  But  now  see  what  happens.  All 
the  filth  from  the  barnyard  and  outhouse  is  also 


LITTLE  DROPS  OF  WATER  161 

washed  down  through  the  earth  and  trickles  into  the 
well.  Besides,  the  brick  at  the  top  and  sides  of  the 
well  is  not  tight,  so  all  the  surface  dirt  can  get  in.  The 
Alcocks  were  made  dreadfully  sick  by  that  water/' 

"I  remember  now/'  said  Ruth,  "the  Alcock  twins 
were  away  from  school  a  long  time  last  year.  They 
said  Mrs.  Alcock  had  to  boil  all  the  well-water." 

"Yes,  you  know  that  boiling  kills  disease-germs. 
So  whenever  you  aren't  sure  that  water  is  safe,  you 
can  make  it  so  by  boiling  it. "  t 

"But  that's  an  awful  lot  of  bother,"  said  Paul. 

"But  being  sick  is  more  bother  yet,"  said  Mother. 

"If  water  looks  all  right,  is  it  safe  to  drink  it?" 
asked  Ruth. 

"Not  always.  Even  clear,  delicious  water  may  be 
full  of  germs.  You  remember  that  Father  told  you 
that  the  germ-fairies  were  too  small  to  see." 

"But  how  can  we  tell,  then?"  Ruth  looked 
discouraged. 

"In  most  cities,"  said  Mother,  "the  Board  of 
Health  examines  the  water  and  tells  the  people  when 
it  is  unsafe  and  has  to  be  boiled." 

"And  in  the  country?" 

"In  the  country,  the  only  safe  way  is  to  do,  before 
digging  your  well,  what  Mr.  Alcock  did  after  his  fam- 
ily was  made  sick.  He  sent  for  a  man  who  knew  all 
about  water  and  which  way  it  flows  in  different  places. 
This  man  examined  a  drop  of  water  and  found  ty- 
phoid germs  in  it.  Then  he  showed  Mr.  Alcock  how 
the  rock  under  his  farm  sloped  so  as  to  carry  the 
filthy  rain  from  the  barnyard  and  house  right  into  the 
11 


162  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

well.  Now  Mr.  Alcock  is  building  a  new  well  in  a 
safe  place." 

"Dear  me,"  said  Ruth,  "I'll  be  afraid  to  drink 
at  all  after  this." 

"Nonsense!"  exclaimed  Mother.  "Drink  all  you 
can — most  people  drink  entirely  too  little.  Only  we 
ought  not  to  drink  from  shallow  pools  or  from  any 
water  that  gets  the  drainage  from  houses  and  barns. 
And  don't  ever  throw  any  garbage  or  dishwater  or 
any  other  dirt  near  a  well,  or  other  drinking  water. 
And  remember  that  boiling  kills  germs." 

"I'm  glad  we  don't  have  to  buy  our  water," 
said  Ruth.  "In  geography  class  yesterday,  Miss 
Long  told  us  about  how  they  sell  water  in  Africa. 
See,  here's  the  picture  of  the  water-seller  in  my 
geography." 

"How  terrible  it  must  be,"  said  Mother,  "not  to 
have  all  the  water  one  wants." 

Just  then  Father  came  in.  "What's  this?"  he 
cried.  "Is  anyone  dying  of  thirst?  Luckily,  I 
brought  home  some  fine,  juicy  lemons.  Let's  have 
some  lemonade." 

While  Mother  was  washing  and  squeezing  the 
lemons  and  Ruth  was  getting  the  glasses,  Paul  told 
his  Father  all  he  knew  about  water.  "I  wonder," 
said  Father,  "how  you  would  like  to  do  as  I  had  to, 
one  time  when  I  was  in  Mexico,  in  the  desert.  Wait  a 
moment  and  I'll  show  you  an  old  photograph  of  my- 
self taking  a  drink.  This  is  a  barrel  cactus.  Its  roots 
gather  water  and  it  is  stored  in  the  plant.  My  Indian 


164 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


guide  cut  off  the  top  of  the  cactus  and  mashed  up 
the  pulp  with  a  stick.  After  he  had  squeezed  the  pulp 
and  thrown  it  away,  a  lot  of  clear  water  was  left." 

"Did    it    taste    goodr9 
asked  Paul. 

"It  quenched  my  thirst, 
but  it  tasted  rather  salty- 
riot  nearly  so  good  as  our 
lemonade.  And  hurrah! 
Here  comes  Mother  with  a 
big  pitcher  of  it!" 

THINGS  TO  DO 

Think  of  all  the  ways  we 
have  of  making  our  water  good 
to  drink.  Then  take  some 
muddy  water  and  see  if  you 
can  make  it  clear.  Can  you 
make  a  filter.  Can  you  "dis- 
till" it?  What  would  you  have 
to  do  to  make  the  water  safe  to  drink? 

Do  you  have  a  drinking  fountain  in  your  school! 
Watch  the  children  use  it  and  decide  if  you  think  it  sani- 
tary. Learn  how  to  use  the  fountain  properly  and  teach 
the  younger  children  how. 

THINGS  TO  KEMEMBEB 

We  need  to  drink  from  six  to  eight  glasses  of  water 
a  day  to  provide  our  bodies  with  what  they  need.  Because 
water  is  so  necessary  for  us  we  must  be  sure  it  is  pure. 
Rain-water  is  pure,  unless  it  runs  over  dirty  roofs  and 
gutters,  or  stands  where  dust  can  blow  into  it.  So  cis- 
terns and  wells  must  have  tight  tops.  They  must  have 


LITTLE  DROPS  OF  WATER  165 

tight  walls  also.  Otherwise,  water  from  the  ground  can 
seep  into  the  well.  Such  water  may  carry  disease  germs 
from  stables  or  outhouses.  People  who  use  well  or  cistern 
water  should  have  it  tested  often  to  make  sure  that  it  is 
safe.  Spring  water,  too,  may  look  clear,  but  have  germs 
in  it.  No  spring  water  is  safe  if  the  spring  is  close  enough 
to  houses  or  barns  for  water  from  them  to  reach  the 
spring.  No  matter  where  water  comes  from,  we  can  make 
it  safe  by  boiling  it  fifteen  to  twenty  minutes. 

Most  cities  take  special  care  to  give  their  citizens  safe 
water  to  drink.  When  city  people  go  to  the  country  they 
should  never  drink  water  from  wells  or  springs  without 
first  finding  out  if  the  water  is  safe. 

Some  things  to  remember  particularly  about  water  are : 

Drink  plenty. 

Drink  from  a  safe  water  supply. 

If  you  don 't  know  whether  the  water  is  safe,  boil  it. 

Use  your  own  cup,  or  a  sanitary  fountain. 

THINGS  TO  THINK  ABOUT 

How  much  water  do  you  drink  daily?    Is  it  enough? 

Do  you  know  where  your  water  comes  from?  How  is 
it  made  safe  for  drinking! 

Have  you  your  own  drinking  cup  ?  How  much  money 
must  you  earn  to  buy  one?  What  kind  should  it  be? 

Can  you  tell  where  rain-water  comes  from?  Why  is 
it  sweet  and  clear,  though  ocean  water  is  salt  and  river 
water  is  often  muddy? 

Can  you  tell  why  cistern  water  may  be  unsafe  to  drink? 

Is  all  clear  water  safe  ?  Can  you  tell  why  spring  water 
is  clear?  Why  is  it  sometimes  not  safe? 

Why  do  people  sometimes  have  typhoid  fever  after 
picnics  in  the  country? 

Make  some  water-rules  that,  if  kept,  would  help  keep 
people  well. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

CLOGGING  THE  FUKNACE 

ONLY  A  COLD 

"O,  MOTHER/  '  cried  Ruth,  throwing  down  her 
school-books  and  catching  up  her  skates,  "we  had  such 
a  funny  time  this  afternoon. ' ' 

"What  happened?"  asked  Mother. 

"Well,  you  know  we  always  recite  ' pieces'  on  Fri- 
day, and  Dorothy  had  to  give  'The  Village  Black- 
smith.' She  had  a  perfectly  awful  cold  in  her  head 
and  this  is  how  she  said  it."  Ruth  pinched  her  little, 
pink  nose  between  her  fingers  and  recited : 

"  '  Udder  a  spreadig  chestdut  tree, 
The  village  sbithy  stads. 
The  sbith  a  bighty  bad  is  he, 
With  large  ad  sidewy  hads' — 

and  then  Dorothy  stopped  and  said  '  A-ker-choo ! ' 
Oh,  it  sounded  so  funny  and  Dorothy  looked  so  solemn 
that  we  all  got  the  giggles.  Miss  Scott  smiled,  too. 
I  saw  her  trying  not  to." 

"Poor  Dorothy!"  said  Mother.  "She  ought  to 
have  been  at  home,  instead  of  trying  to  speak 
her  piece." 

"Oh,  she  wasn't  sick  at  all,"  said  Ruth.  "She 
was  playing  'Hunt  the  Whistle'  all  recess  time. 
It's  lot  of  fun.  It's  like  Blind  Man's  Buff,  only  the 
one  who  is  'It'  has  a  whistle  tied  around  his 
neck  and  all  the  others  try  to  blow  it  without  get- 
ting caught." 

166 


CLOGGING  THE  FURNACE 


167 


Mother  suddenly  looked  serious.  "I  think,  Ruth," 
she  said  ,"that  you  had  better  gargle  your  throat  with 
some  hot  salt  water." 

"But  why,  Mother?    I  haven't  a  sore  throat." 

6  i  Ruth,  do  you  remember  what  Father  told  you  one 
day  about  the  seeds  or  germs  that  cause  diseases?" 

"Oh,  yes,  I  remember  all  about  them." 

"Well,  colds  are  generally,  if  not  always,  caused 
by  a  germ,  or  several  kinds  of  germs,  getting  into  the 
nose  or  throat.  Now  Dorothy's  nose,  from  what  you 
say,  must  be  just  alive  with  these  germs.  And  yet 
she  has  been  putting  that  whistle  into  her  mouth  and 
all  you  children  have  been  putting  it  into  your  mouths 
and  so  getting  a  nice  collection  of  her  germs.  It  will 
be  a  wonder  if  the  whole 
school  doesn't  come  down 
with  colds  in  a  day  or  so." 

"Mother,"   Ruth  began. 

"Go  gargle  your  throat, 
to  kill  any  germs  you  may 
have  caught,  Ruthie,"  said 
Mother,  "and  when  you 
come  back,  I'll  answer  your 
question." 

A  few  moments 
later,  Ruth  entered  the  room  with  her  objection 
all  ready.  "But,  Mother,  Dorothy  didn't  put  her 
nose  to  the  whistle."  For  answer,  Mother  held 
up  a  book  with  this  picture  in  it.  "I  want  to 
remind  you,  Ruth,  though  perhaps  you  remember  it, 
how  your  nose,  throat  and  mouth  are  all  connected. 


168 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


The  air  comes  in  here  through  your  nose,  which  is 
hairy  and  warm  and  damp  inside,  and  so  moistens 
and  warms  and  cleans  the  dust  from  the  air  as  it 
comes  in.  Then  the  air  goes  on  down  through  the 
windpipe  to  the  lungs.  Here,  through  the  mouth,  the 
food  goes  in  and  down  through  the  food-pipe  to  the 
stomach.  Now  Dorothy's  nose,  you  say,  was  all 
stopped  up.  That  means  that  it  was  just  full  of  germs, 
and  of  course  these  germs  must  have  slid  down  also 
into  her 'throat  and  mouth.  You  should  never  put 
into  your  mouth  anything  that  has  been  in  another 
person's.  Never  use  a  public  towel  or  drinking-cup, 
or  bite  another  person's  apple  or  cake  in  the  same 
place  where  he  has  bitten  it.  And,  of  course,  never 

put  dirty  things  like  pennies, 
pencils  and  so  on  into  your 
mouth  or  near  your  nose. ' ' 

"Dear  me,  I  never  thought 
about  it,"  said  Ruth. 

"The  reason  I  said  Dorothy 
should  be  at  home,  not  in 
school,"  said  Mother,  "is  partly 
that  children  are  apt  to  forget 
such  things,  and  partly  that  colds 
are  so  catching.  Then,  too, 
children  often  forget  to  cover 
their  noses  with  a  handkerchief  when  they  sneeze.  If 
there  were  a  strong  light  on  Dorothy  when  she 
sneezed,  you  would  see  a  perfect  spray  of  tiny  drops 
like  this — every  one  of  them  full  of  germ-goblins — 
just  ready  to  hop  into  someone  else's  throat." 


CLOGGING  THE  FURNACE  169 

"What  do  they  do  to  your  throat?"  asked  Ruth. 

"They  are  likely  to  irritate  the  soft  lining  and 
make  it  red  an.d  inflamed.  You  begin  to  feel  chilly, 
your  head  feels  heavy,  and  you  say,  'I  think  I've 
caught  cold. ' 

"But  some  children  are  always  catching  colds  and 
I  almost  never  do. ' ' 

"That  is  because  your  body  is  in  such  good  con- 
dition that  the  germs  don't  have  a  chance  to  grow  in  it. 
You  know  germs,  like  all  other  plants,  need  the  right 
kind  of  soil  to  grow.  Now,  if  you  had  adenoids,  up 
here,  or  if  your  tonsils,  down  here,  were  too  big,  they 
would  make  fine  places  for  germs  to  grow  in.  Some 
children,  too,  have  decayed  teeth  or  diseased  gums. 
A  dirty  mouth  is  just  a  picnic-ground  for  the  germs." 

"Is  smoking  good  for  a  cold?"  asked  Ruth. 

' '  Oh,  no !  The  tobacco  smoke  makes  the  tender  lin- 
ing of  the  throat  sore  and  is  very  likely  to  pave  the 
way  for  a  cold." 

"But  I  don't  think  Dorothy  has  adenoids,  and 
her  teeth  are  nice  and  white,  yet  she's  always  hav- 
ing colds." 

"Perhaps,"  answered  Mother,  "she's  like  a  little 
girl  I  know,  who  loves,  on  a  winter  day,  to  sit  indoors 
over  the  stove  and  read.  You  see,  the  window  is  tight 
shut,  so  no  cold,  fresh  air  can  get  in.  Do  you  remem- 
ber, Ruth,  what  happened  to  the  fern  that  night  when 
it  was  left  by  mistake  on  the  radiator  ?" 

"Yes,  it  all  dried  up  and  got  yellow  and  sick." 

"That  is  just  what  happened  to  this  little  girl. 
She  breathed  the  hot,  dry  air  from  the  stove,  and  sat 


170  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

humped  over,  and  she  grew  pale  and  sickly  and  caught 
one  cold  after  another.  And  the  more  colds  she  had, 
the  more  afraid  she  was  of  going  outdoors." 

"Oh,"  said  Ruth,  "that  reminds  me  of  a  picture 
that  Uncle  George  gave  me.  It's  his  little  sister,  up 
in  Canada." 


"What  a  red-cheeked,  happy  little  girl!"  said 
Mother.  "You  see,  Ruth,  germs  hate  cold,  fresh  air 
and  sunshine.  Being  cold  doesn't  mean  *  catching 
cold,'  at  all.  When  the  famous  explorer,  Nansen, 
went  to  the  Arctic  regions,  he  was  terribly  cold,  but 
he  and  his  companions  never  caught  cold  at  all.  If 
you  do  get  wet,  keep  moving.  I  remember  once  Father 
and  I  were  walking  in  the  country  and  it  began  to 
rain.  It  simply  poured  and  we  were  wet  through, 
but  we  trudged  along  and  enjoyed  it.  As  soon  as  we 
got  home,  though,  we  took  off  all  our  wet  clothes, 
rubbed  ourselves  hard,  so  we  felt  warm  all  over,  and 
put  on  dry  clothes.  It  didn't  hurt  us  a  mite. " 


CLOGGING  THE  FURNACE 


171 


172 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


"But  I  got  my  feet  wet  one  day  going  to  school, 
and  I  caught  an  awful  cold,"  said  Ruth. 

"That  was  because  you  sat  still  in  your  wet  shoes. 
As  soon  as  you  stopped  walking,  your  feet  grew  cold. 
If  you  get  wet  from  rain  or  perspiration,  always 
change  your  clothes  if  you  possibly  can.  Change  your 

stockings  and  warm  your  feet. 
At  any  rate,  don't  sit  down  and 
get  a  chill." 

"Rose  Smith  wears  short 
stockings,  even  in  winter.  I 
should  think  she'd  be  awfully 
cold,"  said  Ruth. 

"It  probably  wouldn't  hurt 
her  if  she  went  pretty  much  with- 
out any  clothes,"  replied  Mother, 
"like  some  savages,  who  are  used 
to  having  their  whole  bodies 
uncovered.  But  it  is  very  foolish 
to  bundle  up  one  part  of  the  body 
and  leave  another  part  unpro- 
tected. This  is  how  I  saw  a  lady 
dress  to-day.  You  see,  the  upper 
part  of  her  throat  is  all  muffled  up  in  furs,  and 
just  below,  her  neck  is  quite  bare.  Here,  where 
her  coat  is  cut  away,  her  stomach,  or  abdomen, 
as  we  ought  to  call  it,  is  likely  to  be  chilled  and  her 
digestion  upset.  Her  ankles  are  covered  with  only  the 
thinnest  silk  stockings  and  her  shoe-soles  are  so  thin 
that  her  feet  must  be  almost  frozen.  You  know,  when 
any  part  of  you  is  cold,  the  little  blood-tubes  grow 


CLOGGING  THE  FURNACE  173 

smaller,  so  it  is  hard  for  the  blood  to  get  through. 
How  do  you  suppose  the  blood  in  that  lady's  body  is 
going  to  keep  her  warm  and  well?" 

"It  wouldn't  be  so  bad,"  suggested  Euth,  "if  she 
were  playing  tag — that  would  keep  her  warm.  But 
she's  just  mincing  along." 

"Well,"  said  Mother,  "I  think  it  is  high  time, 
Daughter,  for  you  to  get  on  your  skates,  before  the 
sun  goes  down.  A  good  skate  in  this  clear,  cold,  sunny 
air  will  drive  all  Dorothy's  germs  out  of  your  nose 
and  throat,  I'm  sure.  Besides,  you  must  get  up  a 
rousing  appetite  for  supper.  We're  going  to  have — 
but,  no,  I'll  let  you  guess.  Now  run  along  and  bring 
home  that  appetite  with  you." 

THINGS  TO  BEMEMBEE 

Colds  are  caused  by  germs  growing  in  the  nose  and 
throat.  If  we  have  adenoids  or  enlarged  tonsils  the  germs 
seem  to  have  an  easier  time  growing  in  noses  or  throats. 
If  we  have  decayed  teeth  or  sore  gums  these  places  also 
seem  to  give  germs  a  foothold.  A  clean  nose,  mouth  and 
throat  is  the  first  step  to  prevent  colds. 

If  we  get  our  skins  used  to  cold  through  fresh  air  and 
cold  water,  then  we  shall  not  ' '  take  cold ' '  so  easily,  when 
the  weather  is  severe  or  rainy.  When  the  skin  is  well 
trained,  the  blood  is  quickly  brought  to  the  surface  all 
over  the  body,  by  cold  air  or  cold  water.  The  skin  glows, 
and  we  feel  warm.  We  do  not  take  cold  in  the  rain,  as 
long  as  we  keep  moving,  and  keep  the  blood  circulating,  so 
that  the  body  is  warm  all  over.  If  we  get  our  feet  wet, 
we  should,  if  possible,  take  off  the  wet  shoes,  and  rub 
the  skin  until  it  gets  hot  and  red.  A  clean  skin,  used  to 
fresh  air  and  cold  water,  is  the  second  step  to  pre- 
vent colds. 


174  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

We  should  cover  the  body  evenly,  not  wear  too  heavy 
garments.  Sensible  folks  use  rubbers,  raincoats  and  um- 
brellas when  it  rains,  but  remove  warm  or  heavy  clothes 
indoors.  Proper  clothing  is  the  third  step  in  prevent- 
ing colds. 

Colds  are  spread  by  people  who  cough  or  sneeze 
without  catching  the  spray  with  a  handkerchief.  Colds 
may  be  caught  by  putting  in  the  mouth  things  that  have 
been  in  the  mouths  of  others  having  colds.  Germs  may 
sometimes  be  prevented  from  growing  if  we  wash  out 
nose,  mouth  and  throat  with  warm  salt  water. 

So  the  last  step  in  preventing  colds  is  to  avoid  coughs 
and  sneezes  of  people  with  colds.  If  this  is  impossible 
use  the  warm  salt  water  bath  for  nose  and  throat  (one 
teaspoon  of  salt  in  a  pint  of  water). 

THINGS  TO  THINK  ABOUT 

How  are  our  noses  and  throats  protected  from  cold 
germs! 

Do  we  have  to  have  colds! 

In  what  kinds  of  mouths  and  noses  do  germs  grow 
best? 

How  can  you  train  your  skin  to  protect  you  from 
colds  !  Have  you  done  so  ! 

What  is  the  proper  thing  to  do  on  coming  home  with 
wet  feet!  Why? 

What  would  you  do  to  avoid  a  cold  if  you  came  to 
school  with  wet  feet? 

What  do  clothes  have  to  do  with  taking  cold  easily! 

It  is  bad  manners  to  sneeze  or  cough  without  a  hand- 
kerchief. Why  else  is  it  bad ! 

How  can  we  keep  nose,  mouth  and  throat  clean? 

Do  you  know  anybody  who  never  has  colds?  Can 
you  find  out  what  health-habits  that  person  has  to  keep 
him  well? 

Why  is  open-air  exercise  a  good  way  to  ward  off  colds ! 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
FKAUDS  INSTEAD  OF  FOODS 

IT  was  New  Year's  afternoon.  Uncle  George, 
Aunt  Louise,  Father  and  Mother  were  sitting  around 
the  fire  talking,  while  Ruth  poured  " cambric  tea" 
for  Paul  out  of  her  Christmas  teapot.  Generally  Paul 
didn't  pay  much  attention  to  the  tiresome  talk  that 
grown  folks  enjoy,  but  suddenly  he  became  interested. 
Uncle  George  was  saying,  "Yes,  liquor  has  ruined 
Will  Frost.  He  used  to  be  a  splendid  young  fellow, 
and  look  at  him  now." 

Paul  looked  up  from  his  cup  of  cambric  tea.  "I 
know  whom  you  mean.  You  mean  Dorothy  Frost's 
father." 

"Oh,  yes,"  chimed  in  Ruth,  "Dorothy  told  me  her 
Father  had  a  whole  lot  of  beer  for  Christmas  and 
New  Year's." 

"Now,  children,"  said  Mother,  "please  don't  say 
anything  to  Dorothy  or  to  anybody  else  about  Mr. 
Frost's  drinking.  It  is  very  hard  for  Mrs.  Frost  and 
we  mustn't  make  it  any  harder  by  letting  her  think 
it  is  being  talked  about.  We  don't,  any  of  us,  like  to 
have  our  faults  discussed,  do  we?" 

"No,"  said  Ruth,  "I  won't  say  a  word  about  it; 
but,"  she  added,  "I  don't  see  why  beer  and  wine 
are  so  bad  for  you." 

"Come  sit  on  my  knee,  Ruthie,"  said  Uncle 
George,  "and  I'll  tell  you  a  story.  About  ten  years 

175 


176  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

ago,  Mr.  Lucas  needed  a  new  factory.  I  offered  to 
build  him  a  good,  strong  one,  but  he  said  I  charged 
too  much,  so  he  hired  another  architect  to  build  it. 
This  other  man  did  it  cheaply,  but  he  used  rubbish 
instead  of  good  building  materials.  The  cement  had 
no  strength  to  it,  so  it  crumbled  and  fell  away  from 
the  bricks.  The  wood  was  soft  and  splintery.  The 
steel  and  iron  were  full  of  weak  spots.  The  building 
looked  fine,  but  it  was  just  a  make-believe,  because, 
as  I  said,  it  was  made  of  rubbish,  instead  of  good, 
honest  materials. " 

"Did  Mr.  Lucas  find  it  out?"  asked  Ruth. 

"Yes,  in  a  terrible  way,  for  one  day  the  building 
fell  down  all  in  a  heap  and  killed  a  number  of  people. 
Now  perhaps  you  know  that  just  as  factories  are  built 
of  cement  and  bricks  and  iron  and  wood,  so  our 
bodies  are  built  up  from  the  food  we  eat." 

"Oh,  yes,"  cried  Ruth,  "I  know  that." 

"  Well,  there  are  real  foods,  like  milk  and  bread 
and  butter  and  oatmeal,  and  there  are  make-believe 
foods,  like  beer  and  wine.  You  might  pay  ten  cents 
for  two  glasses  of  milk,  if  you  were  hungry,  or  you 
might  pay  fifty  cents  for  five  glasses  of  beer,  but  the 
milk  would  give  you  real  strength  and  energy, 
while  the  beer  would  only  hurt  you.  A  glass  of  hot 
milk  makes  you  warm  and  rests  you  and  gives  you 
strength,  but  a  glass  of  beer  or  wine  makes  you  feel 
fresher,  without  really  giving  you  any  more  strength 
at  all,  and  after  a  few  minutes  you  are  even  more  tired. ' ' 

"  Oh,  yes,"  nodded  Ruth.  "It's  like  my  make- 
believe  tea-parties.  Sometimes,  I  pretend  so  hard 


FRAUDS  INSTEAD  OF  FOODS 


177 


that  I  can  almost  taste  the  tea  and  cake,  but  if  I'm 
really  hungry,  I  want  real  bread  and  milk." 

~"  That's  just  it,"  said  Uncle  George,  "  but  your 
make-believe  tea-parties  are  fun  and  don't  hurt  you, 
while  beer,  wine  and  whiskey  do.  Just  look  at  this 
picture.  This  man  is  a  cham- 
pion tennis-player." 

"  Why,  that's  Mr.  Holmes. 
He  teaches  gymnastics  at  our 
school,"  said  Paul. 

"  Yes,  he  and  I  are  great 
friends, "  said  Uncle  George. 
"  Well,  Mr.  Holmes  says  he 
needs  real,  not  make-believe, 
strength  for  his  work,  so  he 
never  touches  alcoholic  drinks, 
such  as  beer  or  wine.  He  said 
he  found  they  made  his  heart 
beat  too  fast,  upset  his  diges- 
tion and  made  him  short  of 
breath.  He  says  no  good  base- 
ball player,  or  swimmer  or  runner  ever  thinks  of 
drinking  beer,  or  wine,  or  whiskey." 

"Yes,"  said  Father,  "and  they  are  even  worse  for 
the  brain  and  nerves  than  for  the  heart  and  muscles — 
they  make  a  man  shaky  and  unreliable.  I  rode  all 
the  way  to  Chicago  in  the  cab  with  an  engineer  once, 
and  he  told  me  that  before  the  railroad  company  hired 
him,  he  had  to  sign  a  promise  never  to  touch  liquor. 
Even  without  the  promise,  he  said  he  wouldn't  dare 
risk  the  lives  of  his  passengers  by  making  his  eyes 

12 


178 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


and  ears  dull,  and  his  hand  unsteady  with  drink.  He 
and  I  became  great  friends,  and  when  we  said  good- 
bye, I  took  his  picture/' 

" Isn't   he   a   fine,   reliable-looking   rnanT'   said 
Mother.     "I  shouldn't  be  afraid  to  ride  behind  his 

engine.  But  most  of  the 
railroads  now  refuse 
to  employ  men  who 
drink." 

"I  knew  that  wine 
and  beer  would  make 
people  drunk — and  of 
course  that  is  horrid" — 
said  Ruth," but  I  didn't 
suppose  that  a  little 
would  hurt  you." 


" Nobody  used  to  think  so,  Ruth,"  said  Uncle 
George.  "In  olden  times  everyone  used  to  drink,  and 
on  a  New  Year's  afternoon  like  this,  every  lady  had 
a  table  set  with  cake  and  wine  for  her  callers.  But  of 
late  years,  wise  men  have  studied  and  made  experi- 
ments with  alcohol.  They  have  fed  it  to  men,  dogs, 
chickens,  and  other  animals  and  have  watched  the 
results.  Now  they  know  that  even  if  a  man  never 
gets  drunk,  the  habit  of  drinking  a  little  every  day 
makes  him  less  reliable,  injures  his  health,  and  even 
makes  him  die  younger  than  he  ought  to." 

Ruth  looked  very  serious.  "Let  me  tell  a  Chinese 
story  that  I  read  the  other  day,"  said  Aunt  Louise. 
"Hundreds  and  hundreds  of  years  ago,  a  Hindu  mis- 
sionary came  to  China.  His  name  was  Bodhidharma. 


FRAUDS  INSTEAD  OF  FOODS 


179 


Now,  in  those  days,  people  used  to  think  that  to  make 
yourself  uncomfortable  was  a  sign  that  you  were  un- 
usually good,  so  this  good  priest  vowed  that  he  would 
do  without  sleep.  He  kept  it  up  for  a  few  nights  and 
then  grew  so  sleepy  that  he  fell  fast  asleep.  When 
he  awoke,  he  felt  so  unhappy  about  having  broken  his 
vow  that  he  cut  off  his  eyelids  and  threw  them  on  the 
ground  and  walked  away.  When 
he  came  back  next  day,  what  do 
you  suppose  he  saw?7' 

"What?"    cried   Ruth   and 
Paul. 

"Why,  his  eyelids  had 
sprouted  and  grown  into  a  queer 
plant,  like  this.  Bodhidharma 
picked  a  leaf  and  chewed  it  and 
found  that,  like  magic,  his  sleepi- 
ness was  all  gone.  And  that  is  how  the  tea  plant  is 
said  to  have  been  discovered  and  why  tea  keeps 
people  awake." 

"Is  that  a  true  story?"  asked  Paul. 

"I'm  afraid  not,"  laughed  Mother. 

' 1 1  didn  't  know  tea  kept  people  awake, ' '  said  Ruth. 

"Yes,  when  I  was  at  college,"  said  Uncle  George, 
"many  of  the  boys  would  fool  away  their  time  until 
just  before  examinations.  Then  they  used  to  sit  up 
all  night  studying  and  keeping  themselves  awake  with 
strong  tea  or  coffee.  They  paid  for  it  in  the  end, 
though,  for  it  made  them  so  nervous  that  they  never 
did  so  well  in  the  examinations  after  all." 


180  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

"Are  tea  and  coffee  and  beer  worse  for  children 
than  for  grown  folks0?"  asked  Ruth. 

"Very  much  worse — and  this  is  why.  You  know 
that  your  body  is  somewhat  like  an  engine  with  a  sort 
of  fire  in  it.  Now,  when  the  real  fire  in  a  real  grate  is 
not  burning  well,  what  do  we  do?" 

Ruth  considered  a  moment.  "Why,  sometimes  we 
put  on  more  coal  and  sometimes,  if  there  is  already 
enough  coal  on,  we  blow  it  with  the  bellows,  to  make 
the  coal  catch  fire  and  burn." 

"Just  so,"  said  Uncle  George.  "Now  the  fire  in 
children 's  bodies  burns  faster  and  more  brightly  than 
in  grown  people's,  so  what  it  needs  is  not  to  be  quick- 
ened up  with  tea,  or  coffee,  but  to  be  properly  fed 
with  good  food.  Grown  people  sit  around  more  than 
children  do  and  often  their  fire  is  dull,  so  a  little  tea 
or  coffee  seems  to  freshen  them  and  start  their  fire, 
but  even  grown  people  ought  never  to  let  tea  and 
coffee  take  the  place  of  food,  and  they  never  ought  to 
drink  very  much  of  either,  or  drink  them  strong. 
As  for  alcohol,  the  only  safe  thing  is  never  to  drink  it 
at  all,  for  if  a  person  once  gets  the  habit,  he  is  a 
slave  to  it." 

"Cocoa  is  good  for  us,  isn't  it?"  asked  Paul. 

"Yes,  if  it  is  made  very  weak,  almost  all  milk. 
Cocoa  is  a  first  cousin  to  tea  and  coffee,  and  if  it  is 
made  strong,  it  is  almost  as  bad  as  they  are. ' ' 

"Well,"  said  Ruth,  slipping  down  from  Uncle 
George's  knee,  "I  think  I'll  pour  some  nice  make- 
believe  tea  into  my  new  cups  and  saucers  and  let  you 
all  have  some.  You  needn't  be  afraid  to  drink  it, 


FRAUDS  INSTEAD  OF  FOODS 


181 


182  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

Uncle  George.     It's  perfectly  delicious  and  won't 
keep  you  awake  a  minute." 

So  Buth  poured  cambric  tea  into  the  pink  cups 
and  while  she  and  Paul  drank  theirs,  Uncle  George 
took  this  picture  of  their  tea-party. 

THINGS  TO  BEMEMBEB 

Beer,  wine,  whiskey,  contain  alcohol.  Alcohol,  too,  is 
a  substance  which  has  only  harmful  effects  upon  our 
growth.  It  lessens  the  work  our  muscles  can  do.  It 
makes  us  unable  to  resist  sickness.  Doctors  and  scientists 
have  shown  that  it  is  bad  for  grown  people,  so  of  course 
it  is  much  worse  for  children. 

Tea  and  coffee  contain  no  real  food.  We  found  that 
real  foods  either  make  us  warm  and  give  energy,  or 
they  help  build  up  our  bodies.  Tea  and  coffee  do  none 
of  these  things.  If  not  too  strong,  a  little  tea  and  cof- 
fee do  no  harm  to  grown  people.  But  tea  and  coffee 
are  very  bad  for  children.  They  contain  a  substance 
that  overworks  the  nervous  system.  They  keep  us  awake 
nights,  and  so  prevent  us  from  getting  sleep  that  we 
need.  If  we  use  tea  and  coffee  while  we  are  growing,  they 
will  surely  injure  our  nerves,  our  hearts,  our  digestions. 
Weak  cocoa  made  with  milk  is  a  good  food,  because  of  the 
milk  in  it ;  but  strong  cocoa  is  like  tea  or  coffee. 

The  only  good  drinks  for  children  are  pure  water, 
fruit  juices  and  milk. 

THINGS  TO  THINK  ABOUT 

1.  When  athletes  are  training  for  a  foot-ball  game, 
they  use  no  alcohol  or  cigarettes.    Many  use  no  tea  or 
coffee.   Why  do  you  suppose  they  do  without  these  things  ? 

2.  Why  do  wise  parents  give  children  milk  to  drink, 
though  they  themselves  may  use  tea  or  coffee? 


FRAUDS  INSTEAD  OF  FOODS  183 

3.  Think  of  the  strongest  wild  animals  you  know.    The 
strongest  animals  that  work  for  man.    Where  do  they  get 
their  strength?    What  do  they  drink? 

4.  Do  you  drink  tea  or  coffee?    Will  you  promise  to 
stop  for  one  month? 

5.  Will  you  drink  one  glass  of  milk  a  day?     Two 
glasses?     Your  teacher  will  help  you  to  remember  by 
asking  each  day  and  keeping  a  record  for  you.     Notice 
how  your  milk-drinking  affects  your  sleep  at  night,  your 
weight  at  the  end  of  the  month. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
A  MAGIC  PLANT 

RUTH  looked  up  with  a  sigh  from  "  Alice  in  Won- 
derland." "Oh,  how  I  wish  I  could  find  a  bottle  of 
that  stuff  that  Alice  found!" 

"What  stuff?  I  don't  remember  about  it," 
said  Mother. 

6 '  The  stuff  that  was  labeled '  Drink  me. '  It  wasn  't 
labeled  *  Poison/  so  Alice  drank  it  and  it  made  her 
grow  smaller  and  smaller  until  she  was  little  enough 
to  go  through  a  tiny  door  into  a  magic  garden." 

"And  did  she  stay  small?"  asked  Mother. 

' i  Oh,  no !  Afterward,  she  ate  a  cake  that  made  her 
grow  bigger  than  ever." 

"Well,  I  don't  know  anything  that  will  make  a  tall 
person  little,"  said  Father,  "but  I  can  tell  you  of 
something  that  will  help  to  keep  a  little  person.,  from 
growing  tall." 

"Can  you,  Daddy?  What  is  it?"  cried  Paul, 
clambering  on  to  his  Father's  knee. 

"It  doesn't  come  in  bottles,"  said  Father.  "It  is 
a  very  interesting  plant.  Long,  long  ago,  when 
Columbus  first  sailed  across  the  ocean  he  sent  some  of 
his  sailors  in  a  rowboat  to  explore  the  island  of  Cuba. 
When  they  came  back  to  the  big  ship,  they  said  that 
they  had  seen  Indians  carrying  lighted  torches  and 
breathing  smoke  out  of  their  noses  and  mouths.  These 
Indians  had  forked  pieces  of  hollow  wood,  shaped  like 

184 


A  MAGIC  PLANT 


185 


this.    They  made  a  fire  from  the  leaves  of  a  certain 

plant,  then  put  the  two  branches  of  the  hollow  stick 

to  their  nostrils  and  breathed  in  the  smoke.    All  the 

Indians      smoked. 

They  used  their  pipes 

as  we  use  watches,  to 

measure  the  time. 

Instead     of     saying, 

'He  has  been  gone  an 

hour, '  they  would  say, 

'He    has    been    gone 

two   pipes. '    Often 

they  kept  on  smoking 

until  they  fell  over  in 

a  sort  of  faint. ' ' 

"How  queer!"  said  Ruth.  "What  plant  did 
they  smoke  I" 

"It  is  a  first  cousin  to  our  old  friend,  the  potato; 
but  I  am  sure  our  good,  honest  potato  must  be 
ashamed  of  such  a  relative.  Bring  me  the  dictionary, 
please,  Ruth.  Now  here  is  a  picture  of  this  plant." 

"What  is  its  name,  Daddy?"  asked  Paul. 

"You  will  guess  in  a  moment,  Paul.  Some  years 
after  Columbus  returned  to  Spain,  the  plant  was 
brought  to  Europe  and  soon  everyone  was  smoking  it. 
They  had  an  idea  that  it  would  cure  or  keep  away  dis- 
ease. London  was  a  very  dirty  city  in  those  days,  and 
a  terrible  disease  called  'The  Plague'  broke  out  there 
and  killed  thousands  of  people.  But  instead  of  clean- 
ing up  and  killing  the  germs  of  the  disease,  what  dt> 
you  suppose  they  did?" 


186 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


' 


What!"  queried  Euth. 
"  Every  one  smoked.    Every  morning,  at  a  famous 
school  called  Eton,  the  little  boys  were  made  to  smoke. 
One  Eton  boy,  named  Tom  Eogers,  said  afterward 
that  one  morning  when  he  didn't 
smoke,  his  teacher  gave  him  a  hard 
whipping.    Nowadays     boys     are 
more  often  whipped  for  smoking. ' ' 
"Was  it  regular  tobacco,  like 
what   men   smoke   now*?"    asked 
Paul. 

"That's  just  what  it  was. 
They  called  it  tobacco  because 
'tabaco'  was  the  Indian  name  for 
the  queer,  forked  pipe  that  I  showed  you." 
"Did  they  all  smoke  pipes'?" 
"Yes,  at  first.  Then  they  began  to  sniff  powdered 
tobacco  up  their  noses.  It  was  a  very  dirty  habit,  but 
the  most  fashionable  gentlemen,  and  even  ladies,  took 
snuff,  as  they  called  it.  Later,  people  took  to  chewing 
tobacco  and  smoking  cigars.  By  this  time,  people 
knew  that  tobacco  wasn't  a  medicine  and  never  cured 
anyone  of  anything,  and  ministers  preached  against 
it.  In  New  England,  on  Sunday,  people  were  forbid- 
den to  smoke  anywhere  in  the  villages,  but  nothing 
seemed  to  stop  them.  You  see,  the  curious  thing 
about  tobacco  is  that  it  acts  as  if  it  really  were  a 
magic  plant,  as  the  Indians  thought.  If  you  once 
get  into  the  habit  of  using  it,  it  makes  you  feel 
miserable  to  go  without  it — you  gradually  become  a 
slave  to  it." 


A  MAGIC  PLANT  187 

"How  does  it  make  people  stay  little ?"  asked 
Paul. 

"It  seems  to  affect  children's  bones,  so  that  they 
don't  grow  as  they  ought.  Then,  too,  it  upsets  a 
boy's  stomach  and  heart  and  nerves,  so  he  isn't  strong 
and  sturdy,  and  that  prevents  his  growing." 

"What  does  it  do  to  his  heart  ?"  asked  Ruth. 

"It  makes  it  beat  feebly  and  irregularly,  so  that 
if  he  plays  base-ball,  he  gets  out  of  breath.  The  heads 
of  the  League  teams  hate  to  have  their  players  smoke, 
because  they  know  it  spoils  their  game." 

' '  Doesn  't  it  ever  keep  diseases  away  ? ' '  asked  Paul. 

"Bless  you,  no!  Just  the  opposite.  People  who 
smoke  have  weakened  stomachs  and  hearts,  and  their 
throats  and  mouths  are  all  sore  from  the  smoke,  so 
they  are  much  more  likely  to  catch  any  disease  that 
comes  along  than  other  folks  are." 

"Why  do  they  want  to  do  it,  then?"  said  Ruth. 
"It  seems  so  silly." 

6 '  Let  me  show  you  a  picture, ' '  said  Father.  '  '  This 
is  a  picture  of  me  on  my  cigarette  bicycle,  as  I  called 
it.  When  I  was  about  fourteen,  a  boy  named  Ned 
Sterling  came  to  our  school  from  New  York.  He 
was  a  year  older  than  I,  and  I  thought  he  was  wonder- 
ful. Ned  called  me  a  ' sissy'  because  I  had  never 
learned  to  smoke.  I  was  too  cowardly  to  stand  that, 
so  I  learned  to  smoke  cigarettes." 

"Did  they  make  you  sick?"  asked  Paul,  with  deep 
interest. 

"At  first  they  made  me  dreadfully  sick,  for  Mother 
Nature  always  warns  us  when  things  are  bad  for  us. 


A  MAGIC  PLANT  189 

But  I  got  used  to  it  and  felt  very  grown  up  and  im- 
portant when  I  smoked  with  Ned  and  one  or  two  other 
boys  behind  the  Sterlings'  barn.  After  awhile, 
though,  I  found  that  even  apple-pie  didn't  taste  very 
good.  When  I  ran,  I  got  all  out  of  breath.  I  felt 
cross.  My  hands  were  shaky,  and  my  lessons  took  me 
twice  as  long  as  they  used  to  do.  One  day,  when  I 
brought  home  my  school  report,  my  arithmetic  mark 
was  'Failure.'  " 

"What  did  your  Father  say?"  asked  Ruth. 

"He  looked  at  the  report  and  then  at  me.  Then 
he  said,  'I'm  going  to  test  your  arithmetic.  Here's 
an  example  for  you — If  a  boy  buys  a  five-cent  package 
of  cigarettes  every  day,  how  much  will  he  spend  in  a 
year?'  So  I  multiplied  three  hundred  and  sixty-five 
by  five  cents.  How  much  does  it  make,  Ruthie?" 

"Let's  see.  It  makes  eighteen  dollars  and  twenty- 
five  cents,"  said  Ruth. 

"That  is  what  I  told  my  Father.  I  have  never 
forgotten  his  answer.  He  said,  'Are  you  willing  to 
lose  not  only  $18.25  a  year,  but  also  your  health,  your 
standing  in  your  classes,  your  position  on  the  ball- 
team,  and  the  confidence  of  your  Mother  and  myself, 
all  for  the  fun  of  smoking  a  package  of  cigarettes?' 
I  only  hung  my  head.  'Now,  Son!'  he  went  on,  'sup- 
pose you  lay  aside  that  five  cents  every  day  and  at 
the  end  of  the  year  buy  the  bicycle  that  you've  been 
wanting.  How  about  it?'  So  we  shook  hands  on  it 
and  I've  never  smoked  since.  I  was  the  proudest 
boy  in  town  when  I  rode  past  Sterlings'  on  my  wheel. " 


190  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

"How  did  your  father  find  out  that  you  were 
smoking  ? ' '  asked  Paul. 

"From  the  way  I  acted  and  from  the  dirty,  brown 
stain  that  the  cigarettes  left  on  my  fingers.  Leaving 
off  smoking  made  me  feel  sick  at  first,  but  I  soon  felt 
better  than  I  had  done  for  a  long  time.  My  next  arith- 
metic report  was '  Very  good, '  and  I  was  made  captain 
of  the  base-ball  team.  You  know,  not  long  ago,  some 
experiments  were  made  at  Springfield,  Massachusetts. 
The  students  threw  base-balls  to  see  how  many 
6 strikes'  they  could  pitch,  and  they  also  tried  aiming 
at  a  target  to  see  how  near  the  bull's-eye  they  could 
come.  Then,  afterward,  they  each  smoked  a  cigar 
and  tried  throwing  and  aiming  again.  They  found 
that  the  smoking  made  their  hands  so  unsteady  that 
they  could  not  throw  or  aim  nearly  so  well. ' ' 

"My!"  said  Paul.  "I  guess  I  won't  ever  smoke. 
I  want  to  be  a  base-ball  pitcher  when  I  grow  up." 

"Well,  Sonnie,"  said  Father,  "even  if  you  should 
decide  to  be  a  millionaire,  not  smoking  would  improve 
your  chances,  for  most  people  prefer  to  hire  boys  who 
don't  smoke.  Thomas  A.  Edison,  who  has  in- 
vented so  many  wonderful  things,  and  is  the  head 
of  a  great  business,  never  employs  anyone  who 
smokes  cigarettes." 

"I  think,"  said  Mother,  "the  children  would  like 
to  see  two  pictures  that  Judge  Lewis  gave  me.  These 
are  two  boys,  Sam  and  Dick,  who  both  came  to  the 
Judge  asking  for  a  place  as  his  office  boy.  The  Judge 
said  that  it  just  happened  that  the  two  boys  were  born 
on  the  same  day." 


A  MAGIC  PLANT 


191 
"  said 


"But  Sam  isn't  nearly  so  tall  as  Dick, 
Ruth. 

"No.  That  was  why  the  Judge  was  so  interested 
that  he  took  their  pictures.  Sam  was  six  inches 
shorter  than  Dick  and  fifteen  pounds  lighter.  Which 
boy  do  you  suppose  the  Judge  hired  V 


"Oh,  Dick,  of  course — he  looks  so  much  stronger 
than  Sam." 

"Yes,  he  took  Dick,"  said  Mother.  "Sam  had 
been  taking  the  stuff  that  keeps  boys  little.  Cigar- 
ettes are  like  Alice  in  Wonderland's  bottle — they 
aren't  marked  ' Poison,'  but  they  ought  to  be, 
oughtn't  they?" 

"Let's  come  out  and  play  on  the  lawn,"  said 
Father.  "We've  talked  tobacco  until  I  begin  to  feel 
as  headachy  as  if  I  had  been  smoking  it.  Let's  play 
tag.  I'll  be 'It.'" 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

THINGS   TO   REMEMBER 

Tobacco,  like  tea  and  coffee,  contains  a  substance  that 
prevents  children  from  growing  into  strong  men.  This 
substance  seems  to  affect  the  bones,  checking  their  growth. 
Boys  who  want  to  be  tall  and  successful  in  athletics  will 
not  use  tobacco.  Besides  stunting  growth,  the  dangerous 
drug  in  tobacco  acts  on  the  nerves,  and  makes  them 
unsteady  and  unreliable.  Through  the  nerves,  it  weakens 
muscles.  It  makes  the  heart-beat  weak  and  irregular, 
so  that  tobacco  users  soon  get  out  of  breath.  Because 
'the  smoke  irritates  the  inside  of  the  nose  and  throat, 
germs  of  disease  often  find  it  easy  to  enter  the  bodies  of 
tobacco  users.  Because  the  heart  is  weakened,  smokers 
find  it  harder  to  recover  from  severe  sickness  than 
other  people. 

No  one  should  use  tobacco  until  he  is  fully  grown,  and 
then  in  moderation. 

THINGS  TO  THINK  ABOUT 

What  good  will  it  do  a  boy  to  wait  until  he  is  grown 
before  he  smokes? 

Why  is  smoking  forbidden  to  boys  on  th6  ball  teams  ? 
To  boys  in  offices,  or  at  work? 

What  are  the  bad  effects  of  tobacco  upon  a  boy's  body? 
Does  the  use  of  tobacco  have  any  bad  effects  on  the 
pocket-book?  Prove  how  it  might. 


CHAPTER  XX 

SAFETY  FIRST 

"I  WISH  I  could  see  a  real  giant,"  said  Ruth,  "not 
just  a  big  man,  like  the  one  we  saw  at  the  circus." 

"So  do  I,"  chimed  in  Paul.  "I'd  like  to  see  one 
like  the  genie  in  the  Arabian  Nights.  He  was  shut 
up  in  a  bottle,  and  when  he  got  out,  he  was  as  tall  as 
a  mountain  and  could  do  wonders." 

"Dear  me,"  said  Mother,  "did  you  suppose  all 
the  giants  were  dead,  or  lived  only  in  story-books? 
Why,  there  are  several  giants  who  live  right  here  in 
our  house." 

"Where  are  they?    I  never  saw  any,"  cried  Paul. 

Laughingly,  Mother  held  up  a  box  of  matches. 
"One  of  the  strongest  of  all  the  giants,"  she  said, 
"is  shut  up  in  here.  His  name  is  fire.  He  can  be 
squeezed  into  this  tiny  box,  but  if  you  set  him  free  and 
he  finds  something  to  feed  on,  he  can  eat  up  this 
house,  this  street,  even  the  whole  city.  Every  year, 
here  in  the  United  States,  he  .eats  about  $200,000,000 
worth  of  houses  and  property  and  kills  or  hurts  thou- 
sands of  people.  Oh,  he  is  a  strong  and  terribly 
greedy  giant." 

"But  we  couldn't  get  on  without  him,  Mother, 
could  we?"  said  Ruth. 

"No,  indeed.  He  warms  our  houses  and  cooks  our 
meals  and  runs  our  steam  cars.  He  is  very  useful. 
But  we  must  keep  him  where  he  belongs  and  never  let 

13  193 


194  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

him  go  free,  or  lie  may  be  like  the  genie  in  the  Arabian 
Nights  and  try  to  kill  us.  That  is  why  I  always  buy 
' safety7  matches,  because  they  won't  light  on  anything 
but  the  box.  Other  matches  often  get  lighted 
by  accident." 

"Aunt  Louise  uses  the  other  kind,  but  she  always 
keeps  them  in  a  tin  box,  so  if  they  did  catch  fire,  it 
wouldn't  spread,"  said  Ruth,  "and  she  is  always  very, 
very  careful  to  blow  them  out  before  she  throws 
them  away." 

"Yesterday,"  put  in  Paul,  "some  of  the  fellows 
built  a  bonfire  and  put  some  of  the  fire  in  tin  cans  and 
swung  them  around  like  this." 

"Yes,  I've  often  seen  them  do  that,"  said  Mother, 
"and  I  always  think  that  the  Fire  giant  is  just  wait- 
ing for  a  chance  and  some  day  will  jump  out  and  catch 
them.  Children  all  seem  to  love  fire,  and  I  don't 
wonder,  for  he  is  beautiful,  but  he  is  too  dangerous 
a  playfellow  to  be  worth  the  risk.  That  is  why,  nowa- 
days, most  large  cities  won't  allow  bonfires  in  the 
streets,  and  why  sensible  people  have  stopped  cele- 
brating the  Fourth  of  July  with  fire-crackers  and  go 
on  picnics,  or  have  some  other  fun  instead. ' ' 

"Mother,  why  can't  you  put  gasoline  near  the 
fire?"  asked  Ruth.  "Yesterday,  at  Nellie's  house, 
her  Mother  was  cleaning  her  gloves  with  gasoline  and 
she  took  them  out  into  the  other  room,  so  as  not  to 
be  near  the  stove." 

"Why,  you  see,  Ruth,  gasoline,  kerosene,  benzine 
and  all  sorts  of  oil  are  foods  that  the  Fire  giant  just 
dotes  on.  When  he  smells  them  he  gives  one  great 


196 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


leap  to  get  them.     That  is  why  you  should  never, 
never  pour  any  kind  of  oil  on  a  fire.     If  you  do,  the 
fire  will  suddenly  jump  right  up  at  you  and  probably 
will  try  to  eat  not  only  the  oil,  but  you,  too.    Another 
thing  to  remember  is  that  if  you  ever  light  the  gas 
oven,  you  must  open  the  door  first." 
"What  happens  if  you  don't?" 
"Sometimes  the  fire  flares  out  at  you.     I  know  a 
lady  who  was  badly  burned  that  way.  The  lace  around 
her  neck  and  sleeves  caught  fire." 

"Goodness!    What  did  she  do?"  cried  Ruth. 

"She  lay  right  down  on  the  floor,  seized  a  rug  that 

was  there,  wrapped  it  around  her  shoulders  and  rolled 

over  and  over.    You  see,  the  Fire  giant,  like  other 

folks,  has  to  have  air  in  order  to  live.    So  when  he 

catches  you,  don't  ever  run. 
That  only  makes  a  breeze  and 
helps  him.  Lie  down  and  wrap 
something  heavy  around  you 
and  roll  over.  That  will 
quickly  kill  the  fire." 

"We  had  fire-drill  at  school 
yesterday,"  said  Paul.  "The 
whole  school  marched  out  in 
three  minutes." 

"Good,"  said  Mother. 
"That  shows  that  if  a  real 
fire  comes,  the  children  won't  get  frightened  and  push 
and  run,  but  will  be  quiet  and  brave  and  march  out 
quickly  and  in  order,  so  no  one  will  be  hurt.  I'm  glad 
the  fire-escapes  at  school  are  all  kept  clear.  One  day 


SAFETY  FIRST  197 

I  went  down  in  a  crowded  part  of  the  city  that  looked 
like  this.  Just  see  how  everyone  has  put  his  vege- 
tables and  bedding  and  garbage  out  on  the  fire-escape. 
What  do  you  suppose  would  happen  if  there  were  a 
fire  in  one  of  those  houses  ?" 

"I  guess  a  lot  of  folks  would  break  their  necks 
trying  to  use  those  fire-escapes, ' '  said  Ruth. 

"So  do  I,"  said  Mother.  That's  why  it  is  against 
the  law  to  keep  anything  on  a  fire-escape. ' ' 

"You  said  there  were  a  lot  of  giants,  nowadays, 
Mother.  What  others  are  there?"  asked  Paul. 

"Well,  there  is  a  very  wonderful  one  whose  home 
is  in  the  sky.  He  lights  our  streets  and  runs  our 
trolley  cars,  but  he  is  even  more  dangerous  than  fire. ' ' 

"What's  his  name?" 

"His  name  is  electricity.  You  have  often  seen 
him  flash  in  the  sky  during  a  thunder-storm  and 
you've  also  seen  him  flash  and  heard  him  crackle  from 
the  wire  of  a  trolley-car.  Wires  over  which  the 
electric  giant  runs  are  usually  carefully  guarded,  for 
he  is  so  strong  that  one  touch  of  his  finger  can  kill, 
but  sometimes  a  wire  breaks  and  falls  into  the  street." 

"Oh,  yes,"  said  Paul,  "I  saw  one  yesterday,  when 
I  was  coming  home  from  school." 

"Those  wires  usually  are  safe,"  said  Mother,  "but 
sometimes  one  is  what  we  call  a  'live'  wir,e — that 
means  that  there  is  electricity  in  it — and  anyone  who 
touches  it  runs  the  risk  of  being  killed." 

' '  Gracious ! ' '  exclaimed  Paul.  ' '  I  almost  touched 
that  wire  yesterday.  Sam  Adams  dared  me  to,  but 
I  didn't." 


198 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


"I  wonder  why  it  is,"  said  Mother,  "that  children 
seem  to  think  they  must  do  any  silly  thing  that  they 
are  ' dared'  to  do." 

"Why,  because,"  answered  Paul,  "the  fellows  say 
you  are  a  coward  if  you  don't  dare." 

"Look  here,  Son,"  said  Mother,  drawing  Paul 
toward  her,  "last  night,  I  saw^  a  moth  fly  into  the  gas. 
Wasn't  he  a  brave  animal?" 

"No,"  said  Paul.  "I  think  he  was  a  big  silly.  If 
he  had  had  any  sense,  he  would  have  known  it  would 
burn  him." 

"Then  you  really  think  that  useless  running  into 
danger  is  not  brave,  but  silly?" 

"Yes,  I  suppose  it  is,"  Paul  admitted. 


u 


;Well  then,"  said  Mother,  "the  next  time  a  boy 
says  *Y&u  don't  dare  do  this  or  that,'  just  say  to  him, 
4 I'm  not  such  a  goose  as  to  try  it  when  I  don't  have 
to.'  Of  course,  if  you  have  to  go  into  danger,  as  the 
firemen  and  policemen  do,  to  save  someone  else,  that 
is  really  brave." 

"When  I  was  riding  with  Uncle   George  last 


SAFETY  FIRST 


199 


week,"  said  Ruth,  "a  boy  was  roller-skating  in  the 
street  and  he  nearly  went  under  our  wheels.  Uncle 
George  turned  aside  just  in  time.  He  said  it  fright- 
ened him  so,  he  was  almost  sick." 

"I  wonder,"  remarked  Mother,  "that  more  chil- 
dren aren't  hurt  and  killed — they  play  ball,  and  hitch 
on  wagons,  and  run  all  over  the  street  without  ever 
looking.  I  shall  be  glad  when  more  playgrounds  are 
opened,  so  the  children  will  have  a 
safe  place  to  play." 

"Last  Sunday,"  said  Paul, 
"Daddy  bought  a  newspaper  of 
such  a  nice  boy,  but  he  had  only  one 
leg  and  he  had  to  go  on  crutches. 
Daddy  asked  him  how  it  happened, 
and  he  said  that  when  he  was  not 
much  bigger  than  I  am,  he  lived 
near  a  railroad.  He  and  the  other 
boys  used  to  play  on  the  tracks  and 
jump  on  the  freight  trains  to  steal 
rides,  and  one  day  he  jumped  and 
missed  his  hold  and  fell  and  the  train  cut  off  his  leg." 

"Oh,  how  dreadful  for  him  to  be  lame  all  his  life !" 
cried  Ruth. 

"And  just  for  the  sake  of  a  moment's  fun!"  said 
Mother.  "But  many  people  are  hurt  not  jumping  on, 
but  getting  off  of,  cars.  Do  you  know  the  right  way 
to  get  off  a  car?" 

"I — er — no,  I  don't  believe  I  do,"  admitted  Ruth. 

"Well,  here  is  a  picture  of  the  right  and  wrong 
ways.  You  see  that  this  little  girl  is  facing  the 


200 


THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 


back  of  the  car.     The   car  has  started,   and  what 
has  happened?" 

"Why,"  said  Paul,  "it  has  jerked  her  backward 
and  she  is  going  flat  on  her  back." 


"Exactly,"  said  Mother,  "but  this  little  girl  faces 
forward,  so  when  the  car  starts  she  is  facing  in  that 
direction  and  is  not  so  likely  to  fall." 

"Which  foot  do  you  start  to  get  off  with  first?" 
asked  Ruth. 

"Forget  your  feet  and  just  remember  to  face  the 


SAFETY  FIRST  201 

front  of  the  car,"  said  Mother.  "And  another  thing 
is,  always  remember  to  look  and  see  whether  another 
car  is  coming  the  other  way,  before  you  cross 
the  track." 

"Dear  me,  there  are  an  awful  lot  of  dangers, 
aren't  there?"  sighed  Ruth. 

"No,  indeed,  Ruthie.  The  world  is  a  beautiful  and 
safe  place  for  people  who  obey  Mother  Nature's  laws, 
the  laws  of  their  city  and  country  and  their  own  com- 
mon sense  It  is  a  dangerous  place  only  for  people 
who  'don't  know'  or  'don't  care.'  Now  let  us  harness 
up  the  Fire  giant  and  make  him  cook  some  dinner 
before  Father  gets  home." 

THINGS  TO  DO 

Find  out  some  of  the  things  that  make  fires  burn. 
We  do  this  to  learn  how  to  control  them. 

Get  a  student-lamp  chimney,  a  piece  of  candle  about 
one-half  inch  long,  and  several  matches.  Light  the  can- 
dle and  put  the  chimney  over  it.  Notice  how  long  the 
flame  lasts.  Now  lift  the  chimney,  light  the  candle  and 
replace  the  chimney,  but  lift  it  from  the  table  on  each 
side  of  the  candle  by  resting  its  lower  rim  upon  two 
matches  laid  on  each  side  of  the  candle.  Does  this  experi- 
ment tell  you  one  thing  a  fire  must  have,  to  burn!  Does 
it  tell  you  how  to  put  out  a  fire  I 

Find  a  fire  extinguisher  in  your  school.  The  teacher 
will  show  you  how  it  works,  and  when  to  use  it. 

Find  the  fire  alarm  nearest  to  your  home.  If  you  live 
in  a  city  find  out  how  to  send  in  a  fire  alarm.  ' 

Perhaps  your  teacher  will  take  your  class  to  the 
nearest  fire  department  house,  where  you  can  learn  how 
fires  are  fought  in  your  home. 


202  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

Find  out  as  many  as  you  can  of  your  city's  rules  for 
making  the  streets  safe.  If  you  have  a  sand-table  in 
your  school,  make  in  it  the  busiest  corner  in  your  town, 
and  show  as  many  of  the  traffic  laws  as  you  can. 

Make  a  safety-first  picture  book.  In  newspapers  and 
magazines  you  can  find  pictures  of  many  articles  men 
have  invented  to  make  buildings,  cities,  streets,  auto- 
mobiles, trains  and  factories  safe.  Collect  all  of  these 
that  you  can  and  put  them  in  your  book.  Tell  what  each 
article  is  for.  Put  a  star  over  every  one  you  have  seen. 

THINGS   TO   REMEMBER 

Fire  is  our  friend  if  we  control  it,  but  a  terrible  enemy 
if  we  do  not.  Most  fires  may  be  prevented  if  we  will 
remember  the  following  simple  things :  Fire  needs  air 
to  burn.  Fire  needs  fuel.  The  fuel  must  be  hot  enough 
to  "catch"  fire.  Therefore  greasy  rags,  newspapers, 
shavings,  must  never  be  kept  piled  closely  together  where 
they  can  gather  and  hold  heat  enough  to  let  them  "catch" 
fire.  This  means  that  we  must  keep  attics,  basements 
and  closets  free  from  rubbish.  When  a  fire  does  break 
out,  all  air  should  be  shut  from  it  at  once.  This  means 
that  we  must  smother  it  with  water,  sand,  earth,  or  heavy 
rugs  pressed  close  to  it.  We  must  never  start  a  breeze 
by  opening  doors  and  windows,  or  by  running,  if  our 
clothes  catch  fire. 

Matches  should  never  be  carried  by  children.  All  of 
us  should  use  safety  matches  or  keep  the  other  kind  in 
tin  or  glass  boxes.  We  should  always  pinch  the  used  end 
before  throwing  the  match  away. 

Oils  of  any  kind  should  never  be  brought  near  a  fire. 

Gasoline  should  never  be  used  in  the  room  with  any 
open  flame— stove,  lamp,  candle  or  gas-jet.  Better  use 
it  outdoors. 

When  we  go  into  any  public  building,  we  should  al- 
ways find  the  fire  escape  nearest  to  us.  The  fire  drills 


SAFETY  FIRST  203 

at  school  help  teach  us  to  move  quickly  and  quietly  out 
of  any  building. 

Accidents  sometimes  happen  through  carelessness  with 
electricity.  Electricity  travels  through  metals  very 
easily.  It  also  travels  through  our  bodies.  It  may  then 
kill  us,  if  there  is  enough  of  it.  We  can  avoid  accidents 
from  electricity  by  never  touching  any  wires  or  rails 
along  which  electricity  may  possibly  be  traveling.  At 
home,  we  should  not  handle  the  switches,  or  the  exposed 
ends  of  the  electric  fixtures. 

Still  more  accidents  happen  because  people  do  not 
obey  their  city's  rules  for  safety  on  the  streets.  Find 
out  your  city's  traffic  laws  and  obey  them.  Some  traffic 
rules  are  these: 

Never  cross  the  street  in  front  of  moving  cars,  or 
without  looking  both  ways. 

Never  try  to  get  on  or  off  a  car  in  motion. 

Never  try  to  catch  a  ride,  on  a  wagon  or  automobile. 

Always  obey  the  traffic  policeman's  orders. 

Never  cross  the  street  except  at  crossings. 

Never  ride  on  the  steps  of  a  car. 

Do  not  play  in  busy  streets. 

The  good  citizen  is  the  person  who  avoids  needless 
accidents,  and  protects  others  by  knowing  and  obeying 
the  city's  laws. 

THINGS  TO  THINK  ABOUT 

1.  Suppose  that  a  child  is  playing  before  the  fire,  and 
a  spark  flies  out,  setting  his  clothes  on  fire.     You  are 
near  by.    What  do  you  do?    Why? 

2.  You  discover  a  fire  in  the  basement  of  your  home. 
What  do  you  do?    Why? 

3.  Name  all  the  things  any  one  of  us  could  do  in  our 
homes,  to  protect  them  from  fire. 

4.  How  do  good  citizens  behave  in  public  buildings 
to  prevent  fires?    To  prevent  panics,  in  case  of  fires? 


204  THE  MOST  WONDERFUL  HOUSE 

5.  How  can  we  avoid  accidents  from  electricity? 

6.  What  can  each  of  us  do  to  lessen  accidents  on  the 
streets  of  our  city? 

7.  What  are  the  most  important  traffic  laws  of  your 
home  town  to  prevent  street-car  accidents?    Automobile 
accidents?    Eailroad  accidents? 

8.  How  could  we  show  other  people  how  to   avoid 
accident?    How  could  each  of  us  be  a  "Safety  Scout"? 


INDEX 


Adenoids,  34,  35,  108,  169 

Air,  36,  37 

Alcohol.  26,  175,  176,  177,  178 

Barrel-Cactus,  164 

Baths,  68,  71 

Bed,  23,  24,  25 

Blind,  Exercise  for,  14 

Blood,  44,  68 

Bowels,  44 

Breathing,  31,  32,  33,  34,  35,  36,  37,  38 

Candy,  46 

Cars,  How  to  Alight  from,  200 

Cleanliness,  58,  100,  142 

Clothing,  75,  76,  77,  78,  79,  80,  81,  82, 

172 

Coffee,  179,  180 
Colds,  166,  167,  168,  169,  170,  171, 

172,  173 
Constipation,  45 

Digestion,  43,  44,  45,  46,  47,  48,  49, 
50,57 

Electricity,  197 

Exercise,  10,  11,  12,  13,  14,  15,  16,  17 

Fire,  193,  194,  196,  197 

Flies,  147,  148, 149,  150, 151, 152, 153, 

154,    155 
Foods,  46,  47,  48,  49,  50,  51,  52,  53, 

54,  55,  56,  57,  58,  59,  60 
Furniture,  Effect  on  Posture,  5 

Indigestion,  43,  44,  45,  46,  119 


Jiu  Jitsu,  10 
KeUer,  Helen,  70 
Lungs,  32,  33 
Muscles,  13 

Open  Air  Classes,  38 
Opium,  25 

Perspiration,  67 
Pores,  68 

Posture,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  7 
Pure  Food  Laws,  55,  56 

Safety  First,  193,  194,  195,  196,  197, 

198,  199,  200,  201 

Skin,  65,  66,  67,  68,  69,  70,  71,  78 
Sleep,  20,  21,  22,  23,  24,  25,  26,  27,  28 
Snoring,  34,  35 
Sterilization,  137,  142 
Stomach,  43 

Tea,  179,  180 

Teeth,  44,  115,  116,  117,   118,  119, 

120,  121 
Tobacco,  37,  169,  184,  185,  186,j  187, 

188,  189,  190,  191 
Tooth-brush,  121 
Touch,  69 

Ventilation,  37 

Water,  140,  157,  158,  159,  160,  161, 
162,  163,  164 


205 


XB  65564 


...-.'."/'•  r*" 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


